Notes of a Dirty Old Man

This collection of Bukowski's columns for an underground LA newspaper epitomises his style of gritty realism. Writing as himself, or his alter-ego, Henry Chinaski, Bukowski delves into America's lowlife to eulogise life's losers and antiheroes. Packed with violence, women, gambling and booze, Bukowski's semi-autobiographical stories veer between hilarity and despair, as he extols the inherent beauty and futility of life.

Charles Bukowski was one of America's best-known and most prolific writers. During his lifetime Bukowski published more than forty-five books of poetry and prose including the novels Post Office (1971), Factotum (1975), Women (1978) and Pulp (1994), all available from Virgin Books.