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The Most Beautiful Woman in Town & Other Stories
- Narrated by: Will Patton
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
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Charles Bukowski turns to the bottle in this revelatory collection of poetry and prose that includes some of the writer’s best and most lasting work. A self-proclaimed “dirty old man”, Bukowski used alcohol as muse and as fuel, a conflicted relationship responsible for some of his darkest moments, as well as some of his most joyful and inspired. In On Drinking, Bukowski expert Abel Debritto has collected the writer’s most profound, funny, and memorable work on his ups and downs with the hard stuff.
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This collection of Buk's grimmest diaries gives an insight into the noir and brutal Los Angeles that Bukowski observed and lived so well. He was a legend in his time: a madman, a recluse, a lover...tender, vicious...never the same. These are exceptional stories that came pounding out of his violent and depraved life - horrible and holy. You cannot listen to them and come away the same again.
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Good Poems includes poems about lovers, children, failure, everyday life, death, and transcendence. It features the work of classic poets, such as Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and Robert Frost, as well as the work of contemporary greats such as Howard Nemerov, Charles Bukowski, Donald Hall, Billy Collins, Robert Bly, and Sharon Olds Good Poems includes poems about lovers, children, failure, everyday life, death, and transcendence.
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No Table of Contents
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Performance
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Opening with the exotic Lady Death entering the gumshoe-writer's seedy office in pursuit of a writer named Celine, this novel demonstrates Bukowski's own brand of humour and realism, opening up a landscape of seamy Los Angeles.
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Bukowskis worst.......still pretty good
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On Cats offers Bukowski's musings on these beloved animals and their toughness and resiliency. He honors them as fighters, hunters, survivors who command awe and respect as they grip tightly on to the world around them: "A cat is only ITSELF, representative of the strong forces of life that won't let go."
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My Favorite Narration and a Wonderful Book
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Performance
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Traumatized by the bombing of Dresden at the time he had been imprisoned, Pilgrim drifts through all events and history, sometimes deeply implicated, sometimes a witness. He is surrounded by Vonnegut's usual large cast of continuing characters (notably here the hack science fiction writer Kilgore Trout and the alien Tralfamadorians, who oversee his life and remind him constantly that there is no causation, no order, no motive to existence).
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Please God, no more James Franco.
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A Farewell to Arms
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The best American novel to emerge from World War I, A Farewell to Arms is the unforgettable story of an American ambulance driver on the Italian front and his passion for a beautiful English nurse.
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This is not unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So, when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically. The leader, and soon Alice's greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who's never asked a man's permission for anything.
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Weird Similarities to “The Book Woman...”
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Publisher's Summary
"He loads his head full of coal and diamonds shoot out of his finger tips. What a trick. The mole genius has left us with another digest. It's a full house - read 'em and weep." - Tom Waits
Bukowski's mad immortal origins, surfaced from the literary underground, have addicted legions of audiences who've recognized Bukowski as one of America's greatest realist writers and poets.
OBIE winner Will Patton (Remember the Titans, The Good Wife, Armageddon) recreates Bukowski in his visceral prime, along with every eye-popping character in his life, each adversary, lover, and stranger in a lost city.
Charles Bukowski is one of America's best-known contemporary writers of poetry and prose, and, many would claim, its most influential and imitated poet. He was born in Andernach, Germany, and raised in Los Angeles, where he lived for 50 years. He published his first story in 1944, when he was 24, and began writing poetry at the age of 35. He died in San Pedro, California, on March 9, 1994, at the age of 73, shortly after completing his last novel, Pulp.
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Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Bornin62
- 05-24-21
Vulgar - yes.
Finding this is why I keep my audible subscription. Will Patton could not possibly do any better. Simply perfect . He embodies Bukowski and his characters. He’s so damn nimble.
10 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-12-20
love it
Charles Bukowski and Will Patton are an unbeatable match, the perfect cocktail, I certainly hope there will be more.
7 people found this helpful
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- Eve
- 11-02-19
loved it!
Will Patton is fantastico! Charles Bukowski is an absolute favorite. Rude, Crude, & socially acceptable.
5 people found this helpful
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- Miss Pancakes
- 05-27-21
Highly disappointed
Very racist, sexist, and offensive. Would not recommend others to listen nor read this at all.
4 people found this helpful
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- Jason F. Cutler
- 06-07-21
Brilliant writing, gritty tales
I was surprised and impressed with 1st story and Bukowski's skill in narration and capturing his character. Every story essentially is about a troubled human whose life consists of sex, drunkenness, violence, worthlessness, and rarely, a terrible job.
But his writing is great.
3 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-06-21
So much fun. So entertaining.
This book was a delight to read and listen to. Will Patton does a magnificent job with this narration. Absolutely flawless. Bukowski does a great job at being deep, poetic, hilarious, lewd, rude, and outrageous. The part about the man shrinking smaller and smaller by his woman was true art. The book got even more wild by the end and started to veer all over the place. This book is one I can definitely listen to again and again. Recommended.
3 people found this helpful
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- Jacob A. Nordby
- 07-03-21
Raw Bukowski
Okay, first of all, Will Patton is an extraordinary performer. I felt that he became Bukowski telling these stories. Raw, lecherous, vivid.
Bukowski is Bukowski and this collection of stories puts him on full display, i.e., not for the faint of heart. If you’re interested in taking a dive into the filthier end of the Beat era degeneracy, go for it.
2 people found this helpful
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- West Coast Reader
- 06-30-21
Terrific narrator
Will Patton sounds exactly the way I imagine Charles Bukowski to sound. Excellent reading, no overacting; he makes this a great event.
2 people found this helpful
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- Norman DeVoe
- 06-16-21
funny
loved it. I'm a new fan. made me laugh. will Patton was perfect for the characters
2 people found this helpful
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- cindylee
- 03-29-22
misogyny and objectification abound
first of all, Will Patton did an astounding job of narrating. second of all, I enjoy Bukowski's writing immensely for the most part. he is an excellent, uniquely talented writer, and very funny sometimes. but the misogyny and objectification of women is truly unfortunate. also, if you plan on listening to this book, get ready for a lot of sleazy nastiness.
1 person found this helpful
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- Michael J Dawson
- 06-01-22
A match made in heaven
Will Patton and Charles Bukowski, a match made in heaven. Filthy dirty and enjoyable writing that Mr Patton turned into a masterpiece.
If your offended then stay away but if you can enjoy the ramblings of a drunk and foul mouthed antihero then this is for you.
I’ll let this stew and listen again meanwhile I’ll find some more Bukowski to refresh my palette.
Brilliant writing and Patton makes it sound like it was written for audio.
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- Stoxy
- 03-19-22
Dull
Collection of profanities and every “ism” there is. Once you get past the novelty of the foul language, it’s actually quite boring. Clint Eastwood’s poor relation does a good job of reading it.