Charles Bukowski: Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life
By (Author) Howard Sounes
Canongate Books
Canongate Books
29th March 2010
14th January 2010
Main
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
Literary studies: poetry and poets
Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers
818.5409
Paperback
320
Width 129mm, Height 198mm, Spine 22mm
246g
Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life is the acclaimed biography of Charles Bukowski, the hard-drinking barfly whose semi-autobiographical books about low-life America made him a cult figure across the globe. Extensive research and unique contributions from friends, family and associates - including Mickey Rourke, Harry Dean Stanton, Robert Crumb, Sean Penn, Norman Mailer and Allen Ginsberg - as well as personal photographs and drawings make this a must for all Bukowski devotees and new readers alike.
* Wonderful - this is the first serious and thorough Bukowski biography. An excellent book about a remarkable man. Time Out * With no shortage of anecdotes, pictures or big names, this biography is so thorough and sharp that it may well be the last. Arena * This biography is an affectionate and thorough introduction that will not be rivaled for some time. Its effect is to revitalize rather than reduce Bukowski's work. Independent * A solid, informative and fascinating account - an excellent biography. Uncut * The dirty story of a dirty man, Howard Sounes's biography of Charles Bukowski confronts an ugly life with an unflinching stare ... this according to some of Sounes's meticulously compiled sources, was the kind of man who would drive a friend to drink himself to death then try to have sex with his grieving widow. -- Victoria Segal Guardian * This is an appropriately gutsy biography of Charles Bukowski, the American poet and novelist who almost singlehandedly inspired a generation of would-be writers to believe that you could spend your entire life getting drunk and still achieve a reputation as a cult author. -- Robert Collins Observer
Howard Sounes was born in England in 1965 and currently lives in London. He has worked as a newspaper journalist in Britain and abroad and is the author of Fred & Rose, the best-selling book about the lives and crimes of mass murderers Fred and Rosemary West.