Ham on Rye

Legendary barfly Charles Bukowski's fourth novel, first published in 1982, is probably the most autobiographical and moving of all his books, dealing in particular with his difficult relationship with his father and his early childhood in L.A. Ham on Rye follows Bukowski's alter-ego Henry Chinaski through high school, acne, & rejection and into the beginning of a long successful career in alcoholism. The novel begins against the backdrop of the Depression and takes Chinaski up to Pearl Harbor. Arguably Bukowski's finest novel.