Charles Bukowski is a well-known American writer of the 20th century, whose popularity in Europe sometimes surpassed his popularity in America (in Germany alone, the lifetime print run of his novels exceeded two million). He wrote more than forty books, including novels, poetry, essays, and short stories. Despite the shockingly naturalistic nature of his texts, they are full of lyricism—sometimes even a distinctive sentimentality.
Bukowski is rightly considered a master of the short form, and his classic collection "Tales of Ordinary Madness" is vivid proof: by bringing his trademark command of the word to an incredible level, Bukowski guides his lyrical hero—a womanizer and a drunk, an obvious alter ego of the author—through all the circles of modern hell. Exactly based on this book, the famous Italian director Marco Ferreri made a film of the same name (starring Ben Gazzara and Ornella Muti), which received the FIPRESCI award at the San Sebastián Film Festival and the David di Donatello awards in several categories at once.