Charles Bukowski cover art

Charles Bukowski

Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Charles Bukowski

By: Howard Sounes
Narrated by: Howard Sounes
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £15.99

Buy Now for £15.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

The American writer Charles Bukowski (1920-94) developed a cult following for his simple and vivid poems, stories and novels based on his experiences as a hard-drinking postal worker in Los Angeles. His classic books include Post Office, Women and Love Is a Dog from Hell.

In this engrossing biography, studded with excerpts from Bukowski's writing, Howard Sounes tells the true story of Bukowski's life in the same punchy style as his subject. Sounes draws on interviews with all the significant people in Bukowski's career, including celebrity friends Robert Crumb, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke, who played Bukowski in the movie Barfly.

Bukowski's editor and publisher, John Martin, praises the book: "Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life is a generous tribute to Bukowski's genius, and it clearly and truthfully captures the essence of Bukowski both as writer and man."

Howard Sounes is known for writing detailed and revelatory biographies of a range of extraordinary personalities, including the murderers Fred and Rosemary West (Fred & Rose) and the musicians Bob Dylan (Down the Highway) and Lou Reed (Notes from the Velvet Underground). For more information, visit www.howardsounes.com.

©1999 Howard Sounes (P)2016 Audible, Ltd
Authors Celebrity Funny
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin cover art
Too Big to Jail cover art
12 Notes cover art
Fingers Crossed cover art
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said cover art
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch cover art
Fire in the Belly cover art
Moose cover art
Solitude & Company cover art
South of No North cover art
Nina Simone's Gum cover art
Salinger cover art
Judy and I cover art
Shirley Jackson cover art
Life Itself cover art
A Curious Career cover art

What listeners say about Charles Bukowski

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    18
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    12
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    19
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

THE Charles Bukowski biography.

Awonderful biography, the style of which is reminiscent of the man himself. Narration extremely irritating.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book!

Ok Howard’s American accent could do with a bit of work but my god what a book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Detailed and seemingly well researched

A full and detailed narrative of Bukowski through the years. I didn't find Bukowski to be interesting, at times clearly a bore limited by his own arrogance and lack of effort. He became successful, but overall he was just a bum and not as enjoyable as Chinaski, his chosen character.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book about a great man!

The best source of information on Bukowski's life! Very well performed by the aurhor. Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

comprehensive biography

in depth, well-researched, well written biography by UK journalist Sounes of the writer Charles Bukowski.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Uncompromising subject and account

Enjoyed immensely. Inspired to read more, after blindly taking on the general picture of Bukowski as an untalented drunk misogynist.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Dirty Adventures of Mr. Sixpack

Oh, what an extraordinary biography this fellow had written! It catapulted me right to the L. A. of the 30's and on so vividly I could feel the smell of Bukowski's armpit! He was probably a massive pain in the ars, but this book is better than any novel I read the previous year. Bukowski is among the few American authors I am able to read, but I had no clue how remarkable his personality was. This biography made me feel every aspect of the life and times to the bone. Very well written and exciting.
At first I thought I listen to some generated voice, but I grew to love the author's narration very quickly. My next pick will be his bio about Lou Reed, an other obscur American idol.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Insightful story but truly appalling narration . One to avoid .

There is no doubt Howard Sounes is a gifted
writer and researcher . I very much enjoyed reading this book years ago and looked forward to hearing it . Unfortunately Howard’s narration is truly awful . Writing and narrating are different skills and what Howard has as a writer he lacks woefully as a performer . His voice isn’t engaging . He is unable to sustain accents . When doing an accent of Bukowski ‘s mother he strays into embarrassing racial stereo typing . Howard’s Bukowski impression is irritating . It truly grates on the ear. This wonderful book in the hands of a skilled narrator could have been brilliant . Unfortunately as an audio book it’s one to avoid . It’s sad as Bukowski’s words are magical but they need to be voiced in the right manner and this isn’t it .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful