Who is Henry Chinaski? The writer Charles Bukowski created mainly autobiographical works. He is the prototype of the hero of many of his novels. “Post Office”, “Women”, “Factotum”, “Bread with Ham” - Henry Chinaski appears in all these works.
Writer Biography: childhood
Charles Bukowski was born in 1920. Mother was a seamstress. Father - to the military. The childhood of the future writer can not be called happy. He later talked about relationships with his parents in the novel Ham Bread. The protagonist of this work, like other autobiographical books, is Henry Chinaski. The author told readers about the harsh and meaningless methods of education that his father used, about how destructive they are for a vulnerable, impressionable teenager. But Bukowski was just that, despite the glory of the drunkard and foul language, which he later gained.
So, in the novel “Ham Bread”, the reader first met a character named Henry Chinaski. Books in order in which this literary hero is present are listed below. Every weekend, Henry did a house cleaning. For the slightest offense, his father brutally beat him. But the saddest event that forever pushed Bukovsky away from his parent happened later, when the future writer began to compose poetry. Father discovered his manuscripts and destroyed. Henry hated him. How did the literary work of Bukowski begin?
As a child, he suffered from inflammation of the sebaceous glands. His face was covered with eels, which is why he suffered both physically and mentally. Charlie had a difficult relationship not only with her parents, but also with her peers. Perhaps it was because of this that he once became addicted to reading. Bukowski began to visit the public library, got acquainted with the work of great writers.
The beginning of creativity
After his father destroyed the manuscripts, Bukowski left his parental home. At that time he was in college, but was soon expelled. The fact is that even then, the budding poet and prose writer spent most of his time in drinking establishments.
The above are named works in which Henry Chinaski appears as the main character. Bukowski's books were already very popular in the seventies. But the real glory came to him after the release of the film "Drunk." In order to learn more facts from the early biography of the writer, it is worth watching this film. The prototype of Henry Chinaski, played by Mickey Rourke, is writer Charles Bukowski. In his youth, he did not have a permanent job, and he did not strive for this. Leisure spent in taverns, earned money by taking part in street fights. They made bets on the alcoholic poet. Sometimes it was possible to make good money. But more often he returned home barely alive and penniless in his pocket.
In the early 50s, Bukowski got a job as a postman. Later this period he reflected in the novel "Post Office". He always wrote a lot, and usually did it with classical music and an unlimited amount of beer. Most of his early works were published in small literary magazines. Features of the work of Charles Bukowski - simplicity, frankness. These qualities allowed the writer in the late 60s to gain wide popularity in California.
At the post office he worked for more than ten years. One day, an agent from a publishing house he had been working with for a long time called the writer and made a lucrative offer. He persuaded Bukowski to leave the mail, devote himself to literary work. At the same time, he undertook to pay him a monthly income of one hundred dollars for life.
Henry Chinaski: books featuring the famous character
The hero, who fell in love with the Americans, and in the 80s became popular outside the United States, is present in the following works:
- "Post office".
- "Women".
- "Factotum."
- "Ham Bread."
- "Hollywood".
- "South without signs of the North."
- "Waste paper."
- "Music of hot water."
- The script for the film "Drunk."
“Ham Bread”
The original title of the work is Ham on Rye. Some critics see this as an allusion to Salinger’s famous novel. The formation of the character of Chinaski, the problems of his growing up - this is the theme of the novel “Bread with Ham”. Here, as in every book of Bukowski, there is a rude humor, simplicity, sometimes shocking frankness. Henry Chinaski is a lyrical antihero, writer alter ego. Once he was asked about how Chinaski differs from Bukowski. The writer replied: "It's almost the same thing, except for the vignettes with which I decorated my hero from boredom."
In the novel “Bread with Ham”, the parents of the protagonist are described in detail. There are other characters here: grandparents Henry. It is worth saying that they are all rather unusual personalities. Emily Chinaski, for example, has a favorite phrase, "I will bury you all." Maternal grandmother's words are remembered by Henry for life. The novel was first published in 1982.
"Women"
This is the third novel by Charles Bukowski. Published in 1978. The author in detail, sometimes rude and very realistic, talks about the relationship of Henry Chinaski with his sexual partners. The words of the author himself serve as an epigraph, which, if they are clothed in a more correct form, will sound something like this: “How many good men were under the bridge because of the woman!”
The novel consists of more than one hundred chapters. It begins with a brief biography of Henry Chinaski. The hero of the work has been living as a recluse for more than four years, barely communicating with women. The only representative of the fair sex to whom he feels affection is his six-year-old daughter, born out of wedlock.
The most eccentric character in this book is Lydia Vance. Chinaski met her at a literary evening. The author talks about Lydia, after which she talks about relationships with other women. There are six heroines in the novel. Serious relationship with Henry Chinaski is tied only with Sarah. The prototype of this heroine is the third wife of Charles Bukowski - Linda Lee Begley.
"Hollywood"
Bukowski dedicated this book to Barbet Schroeder, the director of the film “Drunk”. The literary heritage of the American writer, a representative of the so-called dirty realism, consists of more than forty collections of prose and poetry. He did not write scripts. And only once agreed to do this, and only for the sake of Schroeder, in whom he felt a kindred spirit.
In the novel, the author talks in detail about how the work on the script began. He mentions many famous actors. Including, of course, Mickey Rourke, who played Henry Chinaski, that is, Bukowski in his youth. By the way, the actor would not have been approved for this role, without the consent of the scriptwriter. On the pages of the book "Hollywood" there is a deadly irony in relation to the stars of American cinema. There is a lot of comic character in the characters, the prototypes of which are well-known producers, directors, screenwriters. Bukowski did not like publicity, could not stand hypocrisy. It’s hard not to feel it after reading the Hollywood novel.
"Post office"
The novel was published in 1971. It was this work that brought Charles Bukowski fame. The Post Office has been translated into fifteen languages. He gained particular popularity in Europe. For more than ten years, the writer held a position that he considered boring, humiliating. A cynical view of the world helped him survive, like his hero Henry Chinaski.
Factotum
The book was published in 1975. The novel reflects the events of the early forties. Henry Chinaski travels around the United States, interrupted by temporary earnings. In the novel Factotum, Bukowski spoke about his youth. He told readers about all the professions that he was able to try for his complex and unsettled life.