Post Office : A Novel

"It began as a mistake." By middle age, Henry Chinaski has lost more than twelve years of his life to the U.S. Postal Service. In a world where his three true, bitter pleasures are women, booze, and racetrack betting, he somehow drags his hangover out of bed every dawn to lug waterlogged mailbags up mud-soaked mountains, outsmart vicious guard dogs, and pray to survive the day-to-day trials of sadistic bosses and certifiable coworkers. This classic 1971 novel--the one that catapulted its author to national fame--is the perfect introduction to the grimly hysterical world of legendary writer, poet, and Dirty Old Man Charles Bukowski and his fictional alter ego, Chinaski Charles Bukowski's classic roman à clef, Post Office, captures the despair, drudgery, and happy dissolution of his alter ego, Henry Chinaski, as he enters middle age.Post Office is an account of Bukowski alter-ego Henry Chinaski. It covers the period of Chinaski's life from the mid-1950s to his resignation from the United States Postal Service in 1969, interrupted only by a brief hiatus during which he supported himself by gambling at horse races.“The Walt Whitman of Los Angeles.”—Joyce Carol Oates“He brought everybody down to earth, even the angels.”—Leonard Cohen, songwriter By middle age, Henry Chinaski has lost more than twelve years of his life to the U.S. Postal Service. In a world where his three true, bitter pleasures are women, booze, and racetrack betting, he somehow drags his hangover out of bed every morning to lug waterlogged mailbags up mud-soaked mountains, outsmart vicious guard dogs, and pray to survive the day-to-day trials of sadistic bosses and certifiable co-workers Title Page......Page 3 Dedication Page......Page 5 Contents......Page 7 United States Post Office Los Angeles, California......Page 9 Part One......Page 11 Part Two......Page 51 Part Three......Page 91 Part Four......Page 133 Part Five......Page 163 Part Six......Page 175 About the Author......Page 197 By Charles Bukowski......Page 198 Copyright Notice......Page 199 About the Publisher......Page 200 Despite Henry Chinaski's lust for women, betting, and booze, he has managed to drag himself out of his hangover every day to work for the United States Postal Service for twelve years where he faces the trials and tribulations associated with being a postal carrier