Run with the Hunted: Charles Bukowski Reader, a

by Charles Bukowski

Book Overview

The best of Bukowski's novels, stories, and poems, this collection reads like an autobiography, relating the extraordinary story of his life and offering a sometimes harrowing, invariably exhilarating reading experience. A must for this counterculture idol's legion of fans."Bukowski writes well, for one thing, with ear-pleasing cadences, wit and perfect clarity....There is real poignancy in the people encountered in his work." "--New York Times Book Review"

"Bukowski is the laureate of the Los Angeles underground, an eccentric who sees the world with a clarity of vision possessed only by artists and madmen." "--Los Angeles Times"

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060924586
• ISBN13: 9780060924584
• Release Date: June 1994
• Publisher: Ecco Press
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.4" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Good introduction to Bukowski

This collection was addicting, I read through it quite quickly and wanted to pick up more of Bukowski's work. Run with the Hunted is a good cross-section of his writing, with poems and short stories included.

For Bukowski addicts!

This recording is a MUST for all those, like myself, who regard Bukowski as the one true voice of the fringe-dwelling dispossesed. People focus on his hard-drinking, his 'bum-like' persona, but what makes him remarkable is how his fiction and poetry reflects REALITY: the 'failure' and humiliation of being an artist (and essentially voiceless) in America. I listened to this recording with friends -- and we all agreed that it captures the man. Also recommended: ... Run With the Hunted, Post Office, Ham on Rye, Factotum, Women by Buk, The Losers' Club by Richard Perez

Unforgetable reading experience

I am not going to go over the contents of the book, or much about Charles Bukowski, because if you are considering this book you must know something about the man and his work. I will just give you my impression of this collection of work.No collection can ever really be complete, there are always new things to add, new commentary, newly discovered works, transcripts of records and unpublished letters, but this book does an excellent job in its attempt.To me Charles Bukowski will always be one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century, because of the sheer brutality and honesty his work emanates. It is funny, sad, sadistic, cruel, scathing, enlightening and thought provoking. Everything I like to read. This is poetry for people who are disgusted by verse of flowers, trees and Greek mythology. This is RAW human emotion and experience smeared out onto paper. It is not perfect, and it is not trying to be. It doesn't always work, but there in lies the subtle beauty of Bukowski's efforts. the guts to try. The attempts at honesty, clearly blocked by his unwillingness to divulge everything, and his cynicism of man. This collection is shocking in its beauty, and inspiring by its simplicity. Enjoy.

A voice from the other side

To a kid growing up in a small town in Norway, Bukowski was definitely a voice from another reality. In many ways, his prose and poetry showed that the bums and the lowlifes - in other words; the hunted - actually had a voice, and a strong one at that... The greatness of Bukowski lies in his ability to tell extremely complex stories in a straightforward, deceptively simple language and style. The poetry is also very sharp and precise. Whatever the man did to himself with regard to drink and drugs; it never took away a smattering of his ability to observe the human predicament in all its glory - or terror, depending on whom you might ask... This 'reader' is a good place to start for anybody who would like to get acquainted with Bukowski's work. It contains poems and stories that stay on the reader's mind for a long time. The writings are also a reminder that no matter how hard a person might believe in the American dream, the dream doesn't work for everybody.

run with the hunted

Bukowski is brilliant. This cassette captures his genius and a reading voice that is both unexpected and personal. The only down side is that the publisher keeps listing this as a two cassette package. It is not, but still worth the price.