Alter Ego – DaneCobain.com

Title: Women

Author: Charles Bukowski

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 308

Rating: 4*/5

Charles Bukowski – Women

This book is a difficult one to categorise, because the line between fiction and non-fiction is a blurry one here. But then, that always happens with Bukowski – his stories are often autobiographical, but he also takes details from the stories that his friends told him to create his alter ego, Hank Chinaski.

In this book, we follow Chinaski through a succession of different women as he drinks booze and plays at the race tracks. Because of that, in many ways, it’s a quintessential Charles Bukowski book, and if you’ve read any of his prose before then you’ll already know roughly what to expect. For me, some of the pieces even gave me a sense of deja vu, as though I’d read them before. It’s hard to tell whether that’s because they were collected elsewhere and I had actually previously read them, or whether it’s because Bukowski’s style is so iconic that once you’ve read a few of his books, you’ve effectively read them all.

Now, I definitely wouldn’t say this is my favourite Bukowski book, but in many ways that’s because there’s so much choice on the market. But it is a very good introduction to his work and his writing style, and it’s an essential part of any Bukowski fan’s collection. Sure, he may have been an alcoholic, gambling–addicted womaniser, but the man could write. I imagine his work is probably more controversial now than it was when it was first published, in part because of his attitude towards women, but if you can separate the man from his art and just enjoy his brutally simple style of writing, you’re going to have a lot of fun.

Besides, most controversial books are only controversial because they contain an unpleasant truth.

Charles Bukowski – Read him instead…

Click here to buy Women.

Robert Galbraith – The Cuckoo’s Calling | Review

Title: The Cuckoo’s Calling

Author: Robert Galbraith

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 449

Rating: 9/10

Robert Galbraith – The Cuckoo’s Calling

You might not have heard of Robert Galbraith, but I’ll bet you’ve heard of J. K. Rowling – well, guess what? Galbraith is Rowling’s pen name, an alter ego that she invented so that she could release her crime novel upon the world without people judging it in the shadow of the behemoth that is the Harry Potter universe. It was a smart move on Rowling’s part.

From her point of view, she would’ve wanted to see the first reviews come in, and to read the true opinions of professional critics who didn’t realise that Galbraith, a writer who appeared to come out of nowhere, was actually one of the best-selling writers of all-time. She got her wish, for a while – then the truth surfaced, and sales of The Cuckoo’s Calling went through the roof.

Now, I’ll admit that I didn’t buy my copy until after it had been revealed that Rowling was behind it – it’s not that I don’t like crime novels, I just don’t tend to like crime novels that were released any later than 1950. Here, however, I was pleasantly surprised – I did feel that it started out slowly, but once it picked up pace, there were a lot of reasons to recommend it.

J. K. Rowling

Rowling’s characterisation is top notch, and Cormoran Strike and his temporary secretary Robin are both believable and intriguing; Strike himself is reminiscent of Poirot and Sherlock Holmes, a detective with a distinct personality. And while they’re the primary protagonists, there’s a whole host of supporting characters who are equally believable and well-rounded.

I’m also a big fan of Rowling’s use of locations – unlike the Harry Potter series, which is set primarily in fantastic locations that, despite being juxtaposed with the real world, we’ll never be able to experience, The Cuckoo’s Calling is set in a modern-day London, and Strike’s office is actually above a bar in Denmark Street.

Denmark Street is closer to home to me than for most – I used to work on the street next to it, and I used to browse its music shops on my lunch break. Strike himself, who lost his leg in the Afghan War, goes to rehabilitation sessions at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Roehampton, the hospital that I literally lived opposite while I was at university.

It helped me to imagine the scenes and the characters in the novel – it might not be the same for you. Either way, this is a masterful detective novel and the first in a series which promises to be one of the best on the market.