The first novel by the L.A. barfly who became one of America’s most prolific poets. Few writers are more imitated, and few books are funnier and faster from start to finish. Politically correct readers need not peruse. Bukowski delights in offending the offendable (and goes out of his way to rile women). This is literature that doesn’t care that it’s literature—a thumb in the eye of the overly earnest. The book will never appeal to the masses, but it has some refreshing juice—and also one of the best opening lines ever. Reviewed on Jan. 28, 2021