Saroyan books worth picking up (1 Viewer)

DirtyJersey13

The Cruelty of Loveless Love
Well I tend to read two books at once, usually Bukowski at home, and an author similar to, or referenced by Bukowski, at work. Sometimes vice versa if the bigwig isn't around. Well last month was Celine, and now I'm onto Saroyan. I finished up The Human Comedy and liked it enough to continue on to another book by him.
But other than The Human Comedy and the major plays by Saroyan, I haven't seen much about his other books. And I know that there must be plenty of Saroyan fans around these neck of the woods, I was wondering what other books by him have been read by you and that you could recommend.Thanks for the insight.
 
I loved his short stories when I read them about 20 years ago. He tends towards mushy, but he clearly had a big heart; it's a nice contrast to the tougher voice of contemporary writers.

The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze is a thing to behold even today.

And there's a couple of stories which feature the relationship between him and his daughter that are particularly touching.

So I would suggest looking at this - http://www.amazon.com/Daring-Young-...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271033574&sr=1-1
 
My Name Is Aram is a classic, about an Armenian-American boy in the San Joaquin Valley. Also the play, The Time of Your Life. Also the plays My Heart's in the Highlands and The Beautiful People. Some of his memoirs such as Days of Life and Death and Escape to the Moon are marvelous. I wrote my dissertation on him, published in 1983, William Saroyan: My Real Work Is Being. Saroyan as you probably know influenced Jack Kerouac, Salinger and also Bukowski. (Buk was fond of Saroyan's early writings in particular). I've often thought of Barfly as a sort of upside-down version of The Time of Your Life, which is set in a bar in San Francisco.
 
Thanks for the input. And it seems like most of his books sell for dirt cheap so I can pick up a bunch with my tax return. Yeah the last few collections I've read by Buk seem to mention him at least a few times in each one. And DavidI'd be interested in reading your dissertation, I could certainly think of much drier subjects to do one on.
 

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