Dianne D. reviewed on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Offputting at first, much like the novel "Permanent Obscurity" by Richard Perez, Charles Bukowski's memoir-like novel "Post Office" recounts his years (or "Hank Chinaski's" years) as a Postal Worker. But mostly what this novel is about is the humiliation and tedium of a life spent earning an "honest" wage and having to put up with a lot of stupidity. There's a lot that most people can relate to here. A cruel boss, the endless "sameness" year after year, which eventually grinds you down. A normal working life, to Bukowski, is like a prison sentence. Bukowski's writing style is rough and raw, some might even say primitive. But that's exactly the kind of story-teller he is, so don't expect a PC correct story. Expect a certain level of nastiness and brutality, which also reveals a writer's honesty. If nothing else, Bukowski's writing is honest, and mostly his depiction of the dreariness of day-to-day life is dead on.
