Post Office by Charles Bukowski is a very short novel that should
only be read by older readers because of the numerous references to
women and sex. There isn't really a climax to the story because it
revolves around work, but it has humour throughout, thus it will
not bore the reader. I did not like that the women in the novel are
seen as worthless things that are only there for Henry to sleep
with and are not good for anything else.
Post Office is written through the eyes of Henry Chinaski, a middle
aged man, whose life revolves around drinking and women. Henry's
life at the U.S. Postal Service began as a mistake during Christmas
season when the post office would hire anyone.
As a substitute mail carrier, Henry tells about his life at the
post office and his carelessness of his work. There are his
superior with impossible demands, and Henry talking back to them
and disappearing from work for days at a time. Every morning when
he comes into work, he has a hangover. Henry hates work and his
workplace is unorganized and irrational, yet he must earn to
survive.
After getting bored of the post office numerous times, Henry quits,
yet always makes it back there after going through different jobs
and different women. Although Henry describes his life humorously,
he seems like a terribly lonely man, which will seem more
noticeable in the later parts of the novel. The story then
continues in Charles Bukowski's other novel called Women.
4.5/5