PULP was a farewell letter to his friends, family, and fans.
Read when it was first published - right on the heels of his death - it had a power and sentimentality that is probably lost on people discovering it now, especially if they haven't read all of the work preceding it.
That said, I find it to be one of Bukowski's funniest books - I love the joke about Chinaski and his postage scale, Dante & Fante, The Red Sparrow, Lady Death, et al - and it seems kind of petty to bitch about its qualities, or lack there of, given the fact that it's "dedicated to bad writing."
(Let's see how well its detractors are able to write when they're dying - or living, for that matter.)
Check out THE CAPTAIN IS OUT TO LUNCH for more info.