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.