Novel "Ham Bread" (Charles Bukowski): summary, reviews

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

"Ham Bread" is an autobiographical novel by one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. His name is Charles Bukowski. Books by this author are a rare combination of naturalism that surprises and sometimes shocks, sad humor and, oddly enough, sentimental lyrics.

About the author

To understand what a writer is, you need to read his books. What did Bukowski write? "Ham Bread", "Hollywood", "Women" and many more stories and poems that are not read by sophisticated ladies who prefer women's novels, but which critics argue about, because the work of this outstanding personality is really a special event in literature.

What is known about the author of the novel "Ham and Bread"? Those who have read his books or watched films based on his scripts know that Bukowski had two hobbies in life: writing and drinking. Both the first and the second he indulged selflessly.

The fate of a person largely depends on the first years of life. Family, upbringing, environment are all factors that influencepersonality formation. Therefore, in order to understand what Bukowski was like, you should read "Ham and Bread." This book reflects the events of his childhood, which, perhaps, predetermined the future fate of the writer.

Parents

The first memories of the author of the novel "Ham and Bread" are connected with people who are always present nearby. One is big, loud and grouchy. The other one is smaller. The boy is afraid of both of them. The first is the father. The second important person in the life of Henry (this is the real name of the writer) is his mother. This woman has always been indifferent to the violent methods of upbringing that her absurd husband used in relation to his son.

Father was guided by a kind of pedagogical principle: "The child needs to be seen, but not heard." In the event that he began to hear more than he would like, he took out a razor belt and beat his offspring. After such educational procedures, Henry experienced obvious discomfort, taking a sitting position. And most importantly, with each time the father lost his importance. This man, in the eyes of the protagonist of the novel Ham and Bread, became only an annoying obstacle that eventually had to be overcome.

There was also a grandmother who often promised Henry's parents that she would bury them. What this woman had in mind, sharing such plans, the boy did not understand, but he remembered these words for the rest of his life. Mother, father and grandmother talked about a lot and, as a rule, in raised tones. But they almost never spoke the name of the only person they loved. Henry.

Grandpa

His name was Leonardo. Henry knew about him that he was a disgusting person and that he also exuded an unpleasant smell. He smelled really bad, because he abused strong drinks, to put it simply, he was always drunk. But the smell didn't bother Henry. For a boy, grandfather was the best person. He gave him a German cross on a ribbon and a pocket watch. This event was almost the only pleasant one that had to do with Chinaski's relatives (the author replaces his own name with this surname not only in this book, but also in other works).

The book "Bread with Ham" also tells about other relatives of the writer. Author Charles Bukowski says that for each of them, the father had many sharp, critical remarks. It should be said that Bukowski Sr. (in the novel - Chinaski) did not particularly like people, neither his own nor others. Wherever he appeared, he began to demand something, spewing a lot of obscene words, set expressions and sayings. He often used his fists.

Loneliness

At a fairly mature age, Charles Bukowski wrote Ham and Bread. However, childhood impressions are recreated in the autobiographical novel quite vividly. These memories are usually bleak. But in his books there is not that sugary sentimentality that is present, for example, in Dickens's novels dedicated to an unhappy childhood. With Bukowski, everything is simple and concise. But it is thanks to the style of this writer that his works especially penetrate the soul and heart.

Henry's parents did not allow him to be friends with other children. They were chronically short of money, but sometimes for some reason they imagined themselves to be very we althy and highly educated. That is why the son was strictly forbidden to hang out with offspring from unreliable families.

One of the random buddies was David. He played the violin and was slightly cross-eyed, for which he was beaten by the neighbor boys. Henry has repeatedly suffered for associating with this disrespectful person. But still, the constant companion of the hero of the novel "Bread and Ham" was loneliness. Hopeless, dark, depressing…

Layla Jane

Chinaski had a first love in her life. She was a neighbor girl named Lila, who sometimes walked past lonely Henry's house. She asked him strange questions and made not quite chaste suggestions. Layla was fabulously beautiful, and the author portrayed their first date with simple naturalism characteristic of his style.

Milkman

Father continued to beat Henry with a razor belt. The son became more and more distant from him. But one day, the father suggested that they go together to deliver milk. The fact is that Chinaski worked as a senior milkman, but not everyone wanted to pay for the product that he delivered every morning. The son was a witness to the “knocking out” of money and those strange actions with which the milkman tried to achieve justice. One of the debtors flatly refused to pay, but invited Henry's father into the house. What they discussed there for a long time, the boy did not know, butlater he saw this woman in the parental home. Mother cried, and father claimed that he loved both: both his wife and that strange person who refused to pay for dairy products.

Lawn

Henry's father was not enough of his son's misdeeds, as a result of which it was possible to take the soul away by using the belt. Therefore, he decided to apply a new pedagogical method, forcing the offspring to mow the lawn every week. Joining the work, Henry diligently carried out the task of his father. But he never managed to do it right. One or two blades of grass treacherously broke through and destroyed the overall picture. Such disturbances in the ornamental vegetation that covered the lawn in front of the house did not escape his father's eyes, so he again took out his favorite belt.

Essay on President Herbert Hoover

In the autobiographical novel and the first literary experience reflected Charles Bukowski. "Ham Bread", the entire text of which undoubtedly characterizes the author better than the summary, contains not so many events. Style plays a significant role in the perception of Bukowski's novel. The artistic language of this writer was compared by some critics with the style of Hemingway.

The peculiarity of Bukowski's style is not only brevity and conciseness, but also the ability to conclude a deep meaning in one small phrase. Once, while still at school, Henry wrote an essay. The task was that the students were to attend the solemn meetingwith Herbert Hoover, and then put what you see into a written paper.

Chinaski didn't get to see the President in person. But I still had to write an essay. And he did it, although there was not a drop of truth in the essay. His writing has become the best. And the teacher read it with delight. After this momentous event, the future writer learned an important truth: “People need beautiful lies. They love to have noodles on their ears.”

Alcohol

One of the friends once treated Henry to alcohol. It was magical. Chinaski discovered a way to get rid of the painful feeling of loneliness that had not left him from an early age. The world, which is actually not easy to perceive for a thinking person, has acquired new colors. Since then, he could hide from reality, which was extremely burdensome for Henry, with the help of books, literary creativity and … drinking. As a rule, he combined writing with alcohol.

In a state of severe intoxication, Henry once hit his father. He was only fifteen then. After that, Chinaski Sr. never raised his hand to his son. And later their relationship completely collapsed. The father found the stories of the young author, which were hidden deep in his desk drawer. The manuscripts, along with Henry's belongings, ended up on the street.

The author of the novel "Bread and Ham" is perceived differently. Reviews of this book, however, almost all agree on one thing - extremely truthful. Even readers brought up exclusively on classical literature, with difficulty perceivingthe specific language of this writer cannot be called bad or mediocre. There's something compelling about his style that keeps the book from being put aside just because of the many swear words that are a fundamental feature of Bukowski's work.

Maybe it's all about honesty. Bukowski's outspokenness isn't redundant. There is just enough of it in his books that the reader needs to come to the conclusion: “This is exactly what I thought about, but was afraid to say.”