J
javier
I just finished Pulp, but I dont understand the ending. What's with the red bird? Is it some sort of methaforical reference, or some analogy??
The Red Sparrow is a reference to Buk's publisher Black Sparrow Press.
The quest for the Red Sparrow is
a) a reference to The Maltese Falcon and
b) a reference to the fact, that John Martin of Black Sparrow Press offered Buk 100.- USD per month for lifetime if he'd quit his job at the post office and become a professional writer for BSP (that was back in 1969).
The death by being eaten is, i.m.o, a reference to being eaten by cancer (which Buk was) and not related to the connection with the BSP made before in the book (by which I mean, I don't think he wanted to say, he was eaten up and killed by BSP).
The ending comes quite of a sudden, which leads me to the oppinion he
a) was in a hurry finishing the novel which he knew would be his last and
b) lost interest in finding a more elaborated ending maybe because
c) death / the end is often coming all of a sudden.
The quest for the Red Sparrow is
a) a reference to The Maltese Falcon and
b) a reference to the fact, that John Martin of Black Sparrow Press offered Buk 100.- USD per month for lifetime if he'd quit his job at the post office and become a professional writer for BSP (that was back in 1969).
The death by being eaten is, i.m.o, a reference to being eaten by cancer (which Buk was) and not related to the connection with the BSP made before in the book (by which I mean, I don't think he wanted to say, he was eaten up and killed by BSP).
The ending comes quite of a sudden, which leads me to the oppinion he
a) was in a hurry finishing the novel which he knew would be his last and
b) lost interest in finding a more elaborated ending maybe because
c) death / the end is often coming all of a sudden.
Gerard K H Love
Appreciate your friends
roni the genius. Right on.
Bukfan
"The law is wrong; I am right"
Right on, Roni! - Plus, the last sentence in the book says:
"The beak opened wide, the Sparrow's head moved closer and the blaze and the blare of yellow swept over and enveloped me."
- I think Bukowski chose yellow because it was his favorite color!
"The beak opened wide, the Sparrow's head moved closer and the blaze and the blare of yellow swept over and enveloped me."
- I think Bukowski chose yellow because it was his favorite color!
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i have not read, "pulp" in awhile.. i found it profoundly moving, it is buke's acceptance of death... the bird is death, and the yellow is symbolic of death not being frightening anymore. death being a "jumbo nothing," accepting death is really a matter of accepting one's own life. thus we come full circle: as he neared the end his life-long fear of death was set aside in his appreciation at the opportunity of his own life.
I never thought of this before, but poems were submitted in envelopes and he like his poems now move to a new beginning where editing of character and poem is beyond his direct control
Or I missed the thread that discussed that option.
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I agree that the Red Sparrow refers to Black Sparrow Press, but I think the yellow light inside its beek at the end of "Pulp" is perhaps the "light of creation"
The light of creation is the only thing that can defeat Lady Death...it lives on after the body dies, and creation (his writing of course) also saved Charles Bukowski from madness, suicide, failed love, horrible jobs, life in slum apartments, etc, etc.
I think much of Bukowski's life was a search for that light , especially giving the amount of darkness he had to endure...he often mentions the "flash" of the word in his poems, , as a part of the magic that drew him to writing. Just my thoughts after having completed "Pulp" which I think is a brilliant book, very "Bukowskian" and very funny.
The light of creation is the only thing that can defeat Lady Death...it lives on after the body dies, and creation (his writing of course) also saved Charles Bukowski from madness, suicide, failed love, horrible jobs, life in slum apartments, etc, etc.
I think much of Bukowski's life was a search for that light , especially giving the amount of darkness he had to endure...he often mentions the "flash" of the word in his poems, , as a part of the magic that drew him to writing. Just my thoughts after having completed "Pulp" which I think is a brilliant book, very "Bukowskian" and very funny.
C
caraculo
So it's actually like a Quentin Tarantino movie with lots of references to the personal likes and dislikes of the author? Could anyone get/enjoy the ending of Pulp without having a clue about any of the references mentioned?
mjp
Founding member
It is like the light of creation in Quentin Tarantino's beak, yes, you are both correct. You have unlocked the secret key to Bukowski's religious teachings. Very few have done so. You may find, however, that the knowledge only leads only to sorrow. But what can you do? The die is cast.
Based on your previous posts, caraculo, no! No one could enjoy the end of Pulp without someone else telling them they should enjoy it. Dig deeper or try thinking for yourself. Might take some getting use to but digging deeper or thinking for yourself might just be something you ought to consider making a habit of.
nervas
more crickets than friends
Not sure about your Tarantino thing, but anyway I read Pulp for the first time in 94-95? I had only been reading Buk for about 4 years, so I didn't even attempt to find meanings behind references or anything else and still absolutely enjoyed the book as a good fictional read!
C
caraculo
I mean, Tarantino's movies are full of references to the old movies he watched when he was a teenager and worked in a videostore, that kind of stuff that only those in the know can recognize. So I guess it could happen the same with Pulp...what if the reader doesnt have a clue about Black Sparrow Press, or the Maltese Falcon,or Celine, or the fact that Bukowski was about to die when he wrote it? That would make the ending a bit confusing.
No. Prior knowledge is not required to understand Pulp. If you are aware of the references, then you may interpret and appreciate it a little differently, but both Bukowski and Tarantino make sense on their own.
Personally I'd don't see that Pulp resembles a Tarantino movie in the way you suggest. Well, apart from the bit where Céline shoots Nice Guy Eddie.
Personally I'd don't see that Pulp resembles a Tarantino movie in the way you suggest. Well, apart from the bit where Céline shoots Nice Guy Eddie.
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why the talk about Tarantino??? "Pulp" magazines were a genre even before Bukowski was born, Bukowski and Tarantino might have shared the same fascination with "bad" writing but I see no connection between them
nervas
more crickets than friends
That's what I was trying to say in my original posting. I really had no clue he was writing it as he died, had no clue about who Celine was, or anything else. I still enjoyed it very much! After 4 years or so of reading Buk books, I was still very much a rookie.
nervas
more crickets than friends
bukfan, maybe, but I still honestly remember not knowing much about Buk in 1995, and still enjoyed the book. I don't know, I was 18, maybe naive, but never thought about any hints, or references, and still considered it a good book. But hey, when I like someone, I guess I just like them, because I would have argued with Johnny Ramone when he says Adios Amigos was a bad Ramones album, or if anyone says a bad Johnny Depp or John Waters movie exists. They're all 1000 times better than most of the shit out there.
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LickTheStar
Sad Flower in the Sand
Reading this thread makes me want to re-read Pulp.
I think I will, goddammit!
I think I will, goddammit!
J
javier
Wow I started this a year ago. Impressive. So what is the veredict?
bospress.net
www.bospress.net
I love the book and have just re-read it. I had read it when it first came out in 1994. I love the dialogue. I love the odd plot which is more like Altman's Short Cuts than Pulp Fiction. I do not like the end, but appreciate it. Death can happen suddenly as it does in the book. There was nothing solid (Except Lady Death hanging around him a lot) to predict it. Then again, someone can have a great day at work, hang out with the kids and have a great time fishing, have a great dinner and then have a plane fall on you. It does not have to follow a storyline.
As much as it annoys me when I watch a movie and it just ENDS with no real resolution, it is refreshing that the director (or writer) did not feel the need to wrap everything up in a nice neat package. Those are the movies that have me thinking for days about what this and that really meant.
Hollywood movies always seem to have a need to wrap everything in a nice neat package and have everything turn out swell at the end. Look at crapfests like Armageddon for proof of this. I was rooting for them to fail. I wanted to see what would happen if they failed, but I get this crap that we are able to control everything. There are some movies that end depressing as hell. These are my movies. Look at the two movies made from books by Hubert Selby jr. In both movies, the characters start off dysfunctional, but happy. In all cases, they end up in horrible nightmarish situations (characters getting gang raped, crucified, institutionalized, amputated) and then the movie ends. Brilliant.
Bill
As much as it annoys me when I watch a movie and it just ENDS with no real resolution, it is refreshing that the director (or writer) did not feel the need to wrap everything up in a nice neat package. Those are the movies that have me thinking for days about what this and that really meant.
Hollywood movies always seem to have a need to wrap everything in a nice neat package and have everything turn out swell at the end. Look at crapfests like Armageddon for proof of this. I was rooting for them to fail. I wanted to see what would happen if they failed, but I get this crap that we are able to control everything. There are some movies that end depressing as hell. These are my movies. Look at the two movies made from books by Hubert Selby jr. In both movies, the characters start off dysfunctional, but happy. In all cases, they end up in horrible nightmarish situations (characters getting gang raped, crucified, institutionalized, amputated) and then the movie ends. Brilliant.
Bill
nervas
more crickets than friends
Ha, but most if not all John Waters movies from Pink Flamingos to Desperate Living to Serial Mom and everything in between all end in happily ever after!
And I certainly hope no one would ever say kids love those movies!
Now I'm searching the memory banks for a Waters movie that did not end in happily ever after, I'm not sure one exists.
And I certainly hope no one would ever say kids love those movies!
Now I'm searching the memory banks for a Waters movie that did not end in happily ever after, I'm not sure one exists.
chronic
old and in the way
The Diane Linkletter Story? It's been many years since I've seen it but I don't think that one did. Also can't remember if either Mondo Trasho or Multiple Maniacs ended that way (in fact, I can't remember how either of them ended).
nervas
more crickets than friends
You're right on the Diane Linkletter Story, but it was not an original ideal, more of a mocumentary and it did in her suicide. The ending of Multiple Maniacs was Divine being shot down(so no happy ending there. Totally forgot that.) Mondo Trasho, which is really the only of these 3 movies semi available in any format(Only VHS,) ended with lead actress, Mary Pearce having her feet replaced with bird, or animal feet, but she was able to click them together ala Dorthy and have them transport her where she wants...so I'd say another happy ending.
Sorry, after checking eBay, Multiple Maniacs also seems to be available on VHS.
Sorry, after checking eBay, Multiple Maniacs also seems to be available on VHS.