Think you know what it's like to be a postman? Henry Chamsky, The Postman by Charles Bukowski, will tell you all the details of that unique job that was part of his life for 12 years. Don't stop reading!
The Postman by Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski was born in Germany, but grew up in the United States. The Postman by Charles Bukowski was published in 1969, after this poet and writer characterized by his authentic style, even a little coarse and cynical, resigned from his job as a mail carrier in the city of Los Angeles.
The Postman by Charles Bukonski is an autobiographical work, whose story takes place in the 70s. It tells the strange experience of Henry Chinasky during the 12 years he worked in a post office, becoming the first time in which the protagonist of a written story by Charles Bukowski, represents his alter ego.
How did you become a postman?
Someone told Henry that at Christmas, due to the increase in letters to be delivered, the post office hired auxiliary mailmen. Chinasky, lazy as always, saw there a good opportunity to earn money easily and comfortably.
He never thought that in addition to money he would obtain other benefits while walking the streets of Los Angeles, like the time a stunning woman invited him to spend the night at her house, which he did three or four times until he got bored. And is that apart from lazy and drunk, Henry is a womanizer by nature.
Convinced that this was a job made especially for him, he presented and passed the tests to be a substitute postman, which he achieved without much effort. The job was still easy, but Chinasky didn't know why he hadn't had any luck with casual sexual encounters again.
It didn't matter anyway, because he continued to live with his girlfriend Betty, with whom he spent his nights chatting, singing, having sex and, above all, drinking. Such was his life, without major commitments.
The move to Oakford
After a while, The Postman by Charles Bukowski, Henry Chinasky was transferred to a new office, where the work was more demanding and the boss was not a good person. That, and the constant tiredness with which he arrived at work, product of the late night and the hangover from staying drinking until after midnight, complicated things even more.
An idea suddenly occurred to him: he would report Mr. Jonstone to the federal authorities. How wrong he was when he believed that his plan could work, because, on the contrary, his boss retaliated strongly against him: first he did not assign him more routes, then he sent him to make the worst tours of the entire office and, in addition, he constantly admonished him.
Chinasky was sure that the postman job would end up killing him, especially given the conditions in which he arrived at work every morning. He felt that he couldn't keep up with his work while he continued to go without rest at night.
It was on a day of heavy rain when Chinasky, The Postman by Charles Bukowski, had to hit the streets with his shoes and jacket torn, then everything went wrong and he almost quit his job.
resignation
After three years, Chinasky became a regular postman, obtaining certain benefits, such as: vacations, days off per week and fixed routes; however, he sensed that now the work would be more difficult and less fun. In the end, the imposition of ridiculous rules, coupled with defiance and constant reprimands from Mr. Jonstone made him resign.
Most of the time he was at home doing nothing, except when he went to the racetrack to bet on the horse races. When Betty started working, her life became even simpler, making it the best time to lounge around and flirt with other women.
However, paradise soon ended when his beloved girlfriend, tired of people's gossip, decided to leave him. Thus, at the age of 36, Chinasky faced his third love failure.
Joyce
It is not worth mentioning how, the truth is that Chinasky soon ended up married to a millionaire nymphomaniac and living in a town far from the city. Her family believed that he had married her for her money, but he knew that wasn't true, just as he was sure that he didn't even love her.
Soon after, at Joyce's request, the couple returned to Los Angeles; Much to her regret, he had to look for a job so that her family would not think that he was a freeloader, even knowing that he was. As in the past, he took the easy option and ended up working in a warehouse; however, suddenly, he no longer wanted to be there and sought a way to return to his old job.
cards and more cards
This is how Chinasky, The Postman by Charles Bukowski, go back to the post office; now she works sorting the letters, 12 hours nightly for two weeks and then off for four days. It is becoming more and more difficult to bear the stay in that place, since the environment is hostile and the time is not enough for him to memorize the schemes that help him to identify the postal districts.
It's marathon, considering that every time he comes home, Joyce waits for him with the same spirit and nymphomaniac attitude as always. Because of that, she is pleased with her when she gets a full-time job with the police and they start seeing each other less and less; she thus is not surprised when she receives a request for divorce from Joyce, along with the news that she is leaving him for another man, who later leaves her.
Unexpectedly, one day he meets Betty again, but both had changed too much, so they only saw each other a few times. The ravages of her drinking were taking its toll on her, not knowing that in a short time she would die, practically alone as she had spent almost her entire life.
Life goes on
Chinasky's days were always the same: sorting cards, drinking, betting on horse races, and sometimes meeting women. That's how Fay came into her life, a kind of messy writer.
Even though Fay was an older woman, living with her wasn't easy, but when she got pregnant, Chinasky forgave all her shortcomings. Within the regular time Marina Louisa was born, and when she was barely crawling Fay decided to abandon him; however, he continued to fulfill the role of her father, even when the girl's mother told him that she was with another man.
At the post office the situation was getting worse, he was convinced that he would not be able to retire, not after so many reprimands and having set fire to his letter basket. After 11 years he quit for good, worsening his drinking problem to the point of hitting rock bottom; However, one day he woke up realizing that he had survived, so he decided to write a book: The Postman.
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