Factotum
One of Charles Bukowski's best, this beer-soaked, deliciously degenerate novel follows the wanderings of aspiring writer Henry Chinaski across World War II-era America. Deferred from military service, Chinaski travels from city to city, moving listlessly from one odd job to another, always needing money but never badly enough to keep a job. His day-to-day existence spirals into an endless litany of pathetic whores, sordid rooms, dreary embraces, and drunken brawls, as he makes his bitter, brilliant way from one drink to the next.Charles Bukowski's posthumous legend continues to grow. Factotum is a masterfully vivid evocation of slow-paced, low-life urbanity and alcoholism, and an excellent introduction to the fictional world of Charles Bukowski.
Stats for nerds
3recommend
10mentions
8people
2017–2024years
40% recommend60% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- Everybody should read Factotum from Bukowski, it taught more about work than any other book.
- Yes, definitely Bukowski the dissident. Although I would highly recommend both And the Wind Returns... and Factotum.
There is this very telling scene in And the Wind Returns... where people peruse Lenin's works on the toilet (to then use as toilet paper because there was a shortage of course) and afterwards discuss what they read. It leads to never-ending arguments because the collected Lenin's writings were so contradictory, everyone found something different.
- I might have read a bunch of books and articles about work, but the biggest lessons I've learned are from Bukowski.
The Post Office and Factotum are two of my favorite books. Here are a few quotes from Factotum that I really liked:
~~
“Look,” I said, “these books aren’t worth reading let alone arguing about.”
“All right,” one of the women said, “we know you think you’re too good for this job.”
“Too good?”
“Yes, your attitude. You think we didn’t notice it?”
That’s when I first learned that it wasn’t enough to just do your job, you had to have an interest in it, even a passion for it.
~~
“You knew we were going to let you go?”
“Bosses are never hard to fathom.”
“Chinaski, you haven’t been pulling your weight for a month and you know it.”
“A guy busts his damned ass and you don’t appreciate it.”
“You haven’t been busting your ass, Chinaski.”
I stared down at my shoes for some time. I didn’t know what to say. Then I looked at him. “I’ve given you my time. It’s all I’ve got to give—it’s all any man has. And for a pitiful buck and a quarter an hour.”
“Remember you begged for this job. You said your job was your second home.”
“…my time so that you can live in your big house on the hill and have all the things that go with it. If anybody has lost anything on this deal, on this arrangement…I’ve been the loser. Do you understand?”
“All right, Chinaski.”
“All right?”
“Yes. Just go.”
~~
It was true that I didn’t have much ambition, but there ought to be a place for people without ambition, I mean a better place than the one usually reserved. How in the hell could a man enjoy being awakened at 6:30 a.m. by an alarm clock, leap out of bed, dress, force-feed, shit, piss, brush teeth and hair, and fight traffic to get to a place where essentially you made lots of money for somebody else and were asked to be grateful for the opportunity to do so?
~~~
I always started a job with the feeling that I’d soon quit or be fired, and this gave me a relaxed manner that was mistaken for intelligence or some secret power.
~~~
Here are the one I liked from Women: http://www.p1x3l.com/story/171/bukovsky-women
- Factotum is one of my favs Bukowski's book to. I bought as a gift for my friends when she throws somewhere I find myself to read.
- > Imagine saying that to anyone born a generation prior and expecting sympathy.
The fact that older generations accepted something doesn't mean there are no better ways. In the past, children as young as 7 worked in the coal mines, and doctors treated patients with blood-letting and leeches for all kind of ailments. The fact that old generations accepted things because there were no better alternatives shouldn't leave us blind to the fact that there are, in fact, better ways of doing things.
In fact, many of the older generations saw the futility of their workplaces and have written about it, and their works became bestsellers, most likely because many people of the time recognized the crushing soullessness of the workplace.
Kafka's The Metamorphosis:
"I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself."
And Bukowski's Factotum:
"How in the hell could a man enjoy being awakened at 8:30 a.m. by an alarm clock, leap out of bed, dress, force-feed, shit, piss, brush teeth and hair, and fight traffic to get to a place where essentially you made lots of money for somebody else and were asked to be grateful for the opportunity to do so?"
So, yeah, I do imagine saying that to anyone born a generation prior. I might even write about it and become famous, because that's relevant and important. If nobody objects to it, be it in works of fiction, or with their actions, nothing will change.
- Thanks for boosting this book parent. I didn't read it in 2022, but it's my favorite Vonnegut book.
(Slaughterhouse Five is overrated, most folks just saw the movie and the same folks who listed it on their profiles back during the G20 used to yell at me for listing "Post Office" because apparently Bukowski is problematic -- like, Jesus lady I know, that's why I didn't list Women or Factotum... then they'd cry me a (usually figurative) river when I'd shoot back why do you claim to stan Emma Goldman if you won't date someone who owns a firearm since it's not propaganda of the deed if you get your ass tackled like Squeaky Fromm, and why don't you list literally any Nabokov novel than "Lolita" as your favorite piece of Russian literature?)
