Point of View

Post Office by Charles Bukowski is a fictionalized first-person account, as recorded by Bukowski's favorite alter ego, Henry ("Hank") Chinaski. On the last page, Henry wakes up from a terrible drinking binge and decides to write a novel. This novel is the result of that effort, covering Henry's adult life. Although a chronicy alcoholic, both author and narrator are astute and tongue-in-cheek observers of the human condition. Late in the novel, Henry briefly recalls the days when he works in a slaughterhouse, rides the rails, and takes dozens of menial jobs across the continent, all of which are detailed in Bukowski's second autobiographical novel, Factotum. In Post Office, Henry looks back to first signing on with the post office as a Christmas temporary, which begins easy and fun, before swiftly degenerating into real work, particularly when the supervisor is out to get him. He lasts three...