This book is considered fiction, but it is, for the most part, an autobiography. The main character is Henry Chinaski. His life mirrors that of Bukowski as he spends the better part of 11 years working for the US postal service. This is not part of the book, but Bukowski had tried his hand at writing early in his adult life. He did not enjoy the success he had envisioned, and gave up. The book starts with him needing a source of income, so he applies for the post office. He initially worked as a substitute mail carrier. He would show up early every morning, and if a regular had called in, he would take that person’s route, if not, he went back home, unpaid.
Unlike regular mail carriers, who traversed the same route every time, a substitute carrier was rarely familiar with the route he was given. It made the job quite difficult. To make matters worse, regulars called in at a much higher rate when the weather was poor. This meant old Henry Chinaski had to wander unfamiliar streets in a downpour, all the while answering questions like, “where is the regular mailman?”
During this period of his life, Bukowski (or Chinaski) spent his days working to exhaustion and his evenings drinking to excess. Any free time he had was spent betting on horse races or getting involved with women that only seem to add extra angst to his life. The one exception may have been Betty. He did seem to care for her. She was his partner at the beginning of the story and reappears near the end, only to drink herself to death.
At the end of the bureaucratic, soul-stripping career at the post office, Henry is finally fed up with the constant needling from his supervisors and the doldrums of a typical day. He fills out the forms to resign. He has no plans. Upon returning home, he nearly drinks himself to death. Realizing he has survived his post-employment bender, he decides to write a novel, entitled Post office.
In real life, this becomes Bukowski’s first published novel. At 51 years old he has finally become a successful author. This book is very crude and honest. You won’t find yourself Googling words from these pages as you might from Moby Dick, but Bukowski is a master of brevity and human honesty in writing. He seems to see everything exactly as it is and he makes a common life seem fascinating.
This work may also be one of the first appearances of a modern antihero. He is a main character that you are not inclined to like, but you still find yourself rooting for him. Antihero examples in recent culture would be Tony Soprano from The Sopranos and Walter White from Breaking Bad. I am not sure these characters would exist without Charles Bukowski. I will definitely read more of his work.