Charles Bukowski was an American writer noted for his raw, honest style in poetry and prose. His gritty, semi-autobiographical works like Post Office and Ham on Rye depict working-class struggles and life on society's fringes.
If you enjoy reading books by Charles Bukowski then you might also like the following authors:
Jack Kerouac wrote with a rhythm and pace that echoed jazz improvisation. His stories explore restless youth, road trips, and the constant search for meaning in life. If you enjoy Bukowski's gritty honesty, you'll likely connect with Kerouac's spontaneous and vivid storytelling.
Try his novel On the Road, a classic about chasing freedom and friendship across the country.
William S. Burroughs pushed the boundaries of literature with dark humor, satire, and experiments in style. He confronts harsh truths, addiction, and society's flaws. If the raw, sometimes shocking honesty of Bukowski appeals to you, Burroughs could be a good choice.
Check out Naked Lunch, a challenging yet rewarding novel about addiction, control, and resistance to conformity.
John Fante was direct and heartfelt, capturing the struggles and triumphs of everyday life in clear, simple language. Like Bukowski, he wrote openly about hardship, dreams, and Los Angeles life, often with humor and realism.
His novel Ask the Dust follows the ambitions of Arturo Bandini, a young writer dealing with poverty, longing, and romantic disappointment.
Henry Miller's writing is bold, personal, and unapologetic. He explored sexuality, creativity, and individual freedom with honesty and vigor. Fans of Bukowski's frankness and refusal to shy away from life's messy parts will find common ground here.
His novel Tropic of Cancer vividly portrays the author's experiences in Paris, celebrating a life driven by desire, passion, and authenticity.
Hubert Selby Jr. took a raw, straightforward approach to storytelling, highlighting flawed, troubled characters with profound humanity. Like Bukowski, his glimpse into urban struggle doesn't sugarcoat reality—there is brutality and sincerity in his pages.
Try Last Exit to Brooklyn, a hard-hitting book about marginalized lives searching for meaning, connection, and survival in a harsh, imposing city.
Denis Johnson's writing captures life on the edges, full of raw honesty and dark humor. He focuses on characters who are lost or struggling, and he writes simply but powerfully.
His short-story collection Jesus' Son brings readers into the messy, strange, and bittersweet lives of addicts and misfits. It's gritty and real, full of beauty hidden in the ordinary and broken.
Raymond Carver's style is straightforward and precise, painting clear pictures of everyday people's troubles without extra fluff. His characters cope with loneliness, broken relationships, and quiet despair in stories shaped by what's left unsaid.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love shows Carver's minimalist storytelling at its best, capturing life's complexities with simplicity and honesty.
Tom Waits is best known as a singer-songwriter, but his writing carries the same rough-edged poetry fans love about Bukowski. Often set on lonely street corners and smoky bars, his lyrics and stories focus on outsiders, dreamers, and tough survivors.
Swordfishtrombones, one of his standout albums, blends strange characters and gritty storytelling, turning music into the kind of storytelling readers seek from unconventional writers.
Irvine Welsh writes with fiery wit and a fearless honesty about gritty lives, dark humor, and excess. His style captures the true voices, slangs, and frustrations of working-class characters caught in addiction and hardship.
His novel Trainspotting vividly explores heroin addiction and friendship in Edinburgh's rough neighborhoods, reflecting life's raw and chaotic realities in an unflinching tone.
Lucia Berlin writes stories filled with humor, toughness, and sensitivity, focusing on people struggling but determined to survive. Like Bukowski, she finds beautiful moments and darkly comic scenes within difficult lives.
Her short-story collection A Manual for Cleaning Women introduces us to characters who live day by day, navigating personal struggles with sharp insight and humor.
Richard Brautigan writes quirky, offbeat stories mixing humor with melancholy. His simple yet poetic style explores loneliness and the absurdity of modern life through strange yet deeply relatable characters.
If you enjoy Bukowski's raw honesty, you might like Brautigan's Trout Fishing in America, a gentle, whimsical look at American life that's both funny and unexpectedly touching.
Kathy Acker breaks literary rules openly and defiantly. Her writing experiments boldly with structure and form, addressing taboo topics and controversial ideas without hesitation.
Fans of Bukowski's rebellious spirit might appreciate Acker's fearless novel Blood and Guts in High School, a radical exploration of gender, sexuality, and identity.
Nelson Algren's gritty realism captures everyday life on society's fringes. His compassionate tales about broken and struggling people evoke empathy without sentimentality.
For readers drawn to Bukowski's portrayal of hard lives and deep flaws, Algren's novel The Man with the Golden Arm offers a memorable portrait of addiction and poverty in post-war Chicago.
Louis-Ferdinand Céline captures despair and alienation with an aggressive, cynical wit. His blunt style directly confronts life's harsh realities, often in striking and sometimes disturbing ways.
If you appreciate Bukowski's stark view of humanity and dark humor, you may find Céline's Journey to the End of the Night both captivating and unforgettable.
Jean Genet's provocative stories explore the darker parts of human desire and rebellion. He poeticizes crime, marginalization, and sexuality with language that's lyrical yet raw.
For readers who enjoy Bukowski's frank portrayal of life's extremes, Genet's Our Lady of the Flowers might resonate with its uncompromising depiction of outsiders and outcasts.