Factotum (novel) Summary

Factotum by Charles Bukowski

 

Factotum is a novel, set in the 1940's. The alter-ego of Bukowski, Henry Chinaski; an unemployed and alcoholic man who has been rejected from the draft of World War II. He is searching for a job in the streets of Los Angeles. His passion is writing, but the publishing house, the one he wants to work for, always reject him. He is completely sure that he can do it better than the other authors they publish. 

Chinaski beggins to sleeping with barfly Jan, a friend he met while getting drunk in a bar. He has been abandoned by the only woman he can be related to. He starts and affair with a gold digger named Laura, but once more, he finds himself in a state of bad mood, drunkenness and unmeployment.

Charles Bukowski

 

  Charles Bukowski was born on August 16, 1920, in Andernach, Germany. In America, Bukowski worked odd jobs to support himself while writing. He published his first story at 24, and started writing poetry when he was 35. In 1959, he published his first poetry book. Bukowski went on to write more than 45 books—including poetry, short stories and novels. He died March 9, 1994, in San Pedro, California.