****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
An update - I did go ahead and finish reading the book but my initial reaction stands. Unless you're a mind reader there are some sentences I never did figure out where he was going with it. I think it could have been written to be more more interesting and satisfying but I realize its his own story. That said what is the point of telling it if you're going to be purposely obtuse or confusing? I would not buy it again and really sorry I wasted time on it. I did learn a few things about Chicago but not enough to justify the pain of reading it.Douglas Bukowski has one of the most annoying styles of writing I've ever had the misfortune to come upon. Annoying because he makes it very difficult to figure out what it is he is trying to convey. At the same time, it seems to me that he is possessed of an unattractive and arrogant belief that his musings are of such monumental importance and insight that the reader will be willing to dedicate the time and attention necessary to decipher the hieroglyphics that comprise his self-important mental wanderings.It's one thing to dedicate the time and attention to trying to discover the significance of Chaucer in Canterbury Tales or Homer in the Iliad and the Odyssey but its a stretch to suppose this writing is worth even one one-hundredth of the effort. He writes presuming it seems, that everyone is steeped in in-depth Chicago history and can or will want to read his mind. Why in the world he doesn't just come out and say whatever it is he is intending is beyond me other than that he is motivated, as I referenced above, by the arrogant belief the reader is hanging on his every word.And lastly, about one-third the way through this "masterpiece" I have managed to figure out that he is a liberal and proud of it and, as all liberals are, condemning of anyone of a conservative nature. All of which leaves me feeling that I am his adversary, despised and misunderstood which is hardly a good vantage point for either the scribe or the reader.Actually, I'm not whether I'm willing to go to the trouble of finishing this monument to himself or not and overall I don't like to and rarely give up on a book midway. He has some considerable knowledge about Chicago history to be sure of which I would like to avail myself so that my time has not been totally wasted, I'm just not sure I can "go there" or care enough to go there. It seems to me he doesn't even like his hometown and most of what he says is condemning in nature of Chicago, which premise I would not swear to though because as I said, its really hard to figure out for sure what message he is trying to convey.I'm very disappointed in this book. Reminiscences on yesterday, mine and others, is something I enjoy very much as a whole but this one is more than anything just an exercise in needless frustration and annoying as heck and mostly a waste of time.I'm not all that hard to satisfy for something to read. I've read books I hated to see end and I've read books that were a mildly entertaining way of passing a summer day but this isn't one of them. This belongs in the 3rd category of books I've purchased, i.e. the ones I'm sorry I wasted my money and time upon.
