Well, I've had a chance to read this, and it's very well done!
But just 'well done' wouldn't really be a recommendation, would it. This is really a look into the fucked up, insecure, needy side of Bukowski that has been touched on, hinted at, danced around, but never really fully
put out there for us to see.
There are only two other people who could have written this, and they are both named Linda. One of them will never write anything like this, and one of them may have, but we may never know. I have only read bits of L. King's book, and those bits didn't feel as intimate as Pam's book does.
For that reason alone, I would rank it among the very best of the books about Bukowski. It's an essential piece of the puzzle, for sure.
Here's a little something that surprised me and may help put one of the questions asked about him in other threads to rest:
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He then asked if I would mind turning on the television. He said the Los Angeles Rams were in the playoffs and he wanted to see the game.
While Bukowski preferred boxing and the horses, he did enjoy watching football and baseball games when they were televised. I, on the other hand, had no interest in either, but happily complied and turned on the game.
After about and hour of pretending to care about the game, I began to get restless. Bukowski was engrossed in the game. He was getting very excited. The Rams were playing the Dallas Cowboys for a spot in the Super Bowl.
"NOT ANOTHER BLOCKED PUNT! JEZUS! YOU PUSSIES!" he yelled at the television.
I'd never seen him this worked up over a sporting event, even at the racetrack.
I guess my timing was bad, but I was getting bored and thought it was time for a little musical entertainment. I began to sing the "Mr. Touchdown" song.
You gotta be a football hero
To get along with the beautiful girls...
I sang to him while playfully mussing up his hair. He turned and gave me the most mysterious stare, as though he was studying my face for suspicious looking moles.
Then he said in a very serious tone, "Nothing is sacred to you, is it Red? You don't take anything seriously, do you?"
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Okay, maybe not the most
telling excerpt, but I don't want to ruin anything for you.
The idea of Bukowski yelling at the TV during a football game would have never occurred to me. It doesn't exactly meet up with his
persona on so many levels...