P.164, Ham and Rye
“I walked around the library looking fir books. I pulled them off the shelves, one by one. But they all tricks. They were very dull. There were pages and pages of words that didn’t say anything. Or if they did say anything they took too long to say it and by the time they said it you already were too tired to have it matter at all. I tried book after book. Surely out of all these books, there was one.”
I read my first Charles Bukowski book before Christmas, Ham and Rye and the passage above is a great example of the way he writes and the truth to it all. It’s one of those bits of writing I wish I’d done myself because it is so bluntly yet well put while also being true on so many levels.
I often agree with Charles Bukowski at least with nonfiction. I’ll finish a popular book and think “I could have said that in half the number of pages”. Then that author will come out with more popular books based on his/her success and I’ll think, “How did the manage to write so much to say so little” ( a lot of it will repeat what they wrote previously). I skim these books to see what the point is, what wisdom I can glean, but it is hidden in padding. I do the opposite with a good fiction writer – I savor every word.
Yeah with you on that. I think alot of fiction waffles too, depends on genre etc. old classics can be pretty bad for inane ramblings or over descriptive text – but then Crime and Punishment which I am wading through is great to read as the writing has plenty meaning and great observations.
Brilliant.