The Recent 3 Books I've Read (Including my Current Book)
1. "Factotum" by Charles Bukowski
2. "Out of the Silent Planet" by C.S. Lewis
3. "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville
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"Factotum."
This was my 2nd Bukowski book. I have weird feelings about his work.
I want to like him because he's a fellow (well, former fellow) Polish-American with a classic, actually easy to pronounce "ski" last name (even though people sometimes see my 6-letter last name ending in "ski" and totally panic, somehow adding 15 letters and 5 extra syllables to the word).
Bukowski's books are brief and easy to read and understand. He writes in very plain language – which I think most mere mortals appreciate. He has a Hemingway-esque sense of humor, yet, maybe even more blunt and direct. But he's remarkably vulgar, his stories (the 2 I've read) don't seem to go anywhere. (The protagonist in both books I've read ended up right back where he began – morally and status-wise – at the beginning of the story).
The 2 Bukowski books I've read are "Post Office" and, this, "Factotum." They're both following a character who, by all means, is a degenerate associating with degenerates.
In "Factotum," the main character, Henry, is essentially a homeless vagabond who squanders any job and money he manages to secure for gambling and an incredible amount of alcohol (though, he does seem to win a lot when it comes to betting on horses. Both Bukowski books involve a heavy dose of horse race betting and boozing).
So, I find – so far – Bukowski's writing to be depressing and – aside from gathering some insights on how to write with less fluff and better pacing – I gain no real wisdom or inspiration from his stories.
Yet...I found myself, somehow, entertained reading these 2 novels, following the life of a degenerate with no life purpose. So there's something captivating in his writing style.
I'm unsure why Bukowski is so popular in some corners of the online literary crowd. I guess maybes it's because he manages to keep the reader flipping the pages despite his depressing characters, plots, and overall vulgar style.
In the end, I don't recommend "Factotum." I actually liked "Post Office" better. But not by much.
I feel the desire to give Bukowski's work a 3rd chance, though. Maybe I'll try reading – what I believe to be the last book he completed – "Pulp."
"Factotum" is a quick read, and, like I said, I was either curious enough or entertained enough to read the entire thing. But if I handed it to a friend to read – and they read it – that friend would probably have some questions and refuse any of my future literary opinions.
Final take: PASS.
There's much better books to spend your time reading. Consume too much degeneration and vulgarity and you'll have a hard time NOT becoming someone with degenerative tendencies.
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"Out of the Silent Planet."
Believe it or not, this was my first C.S. Lewis book!
I loved this 1930s take on intergalactic sci-fi! I found it refreshing and enjoyable. Lewis is a beautiful writer and his character development was swell! It finished in a way that sets up the reader for a sequel.
I appreciated that – unlike more modern sci-fi – "Out of the Silent Planet" was not overly long. Yet, Lewis crammed A LOT of quality story, dialogue, and visual "world building" into the mix.
C.S. Lewis tends to work in his Christian faith and lessons into his stories, so it was quite the contrast to Bukowski's "Factotum."
Final Take: READ!
I bought the other 2 books of the trilogy immediately after finishing and look forward to reading those before the year is up.
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"Moby Dick."
I'm just over 25% through "Moby Dick," but it's a big one with mixed reviews, so I figured I ought to do check-in reviews of my own along the way.
So far, it's pretty good. Not the most exciting thing I've read, and the structure this far is a little disorganized. But, the narrator and main character (at least to this point), Ishmael, is an entertaining lad. He develops an interesting relationship (tough to decipher – at least as someone reading in the year 2026 – if it's totally plutonic or maybe romantic) with a South Pacific, tribal, "savage," cannibal. They're initial meeting – and the build up prior to Ishmael meeting his mysterious bunkmate at the oversold motel – is quite the dramatic, comedic scene.
His voyage on Captain Ahab's ship – the Pequod – has just begun, but Ishmael shares a pretty good, personal rundown on things like the classifications of different whales and the glory and mighty history of whale hunters, or, as he tends to refer to himself and his comrades, "whalemen."
Again, it's a little all over the place but the narrator's style keeps things interesting.
Of course, it was written in 1850. So some of the language is challenging and the sentences are long. I'm finding I need to focus. But so far I've enjoyed it enough that I plan to keep reading. I want to find out how things go for Ishmael, his mates, and this vengeful, cantankerous, one-legged Captain Ahab.
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