Ham on Rye

Ham on Rye is a 1982 semi-autobiographical novel by Charles Bukowski. Writing as his alter-ego, Henry Chinaski, Bukowski describes growing up in Los Angeles amid the poverty caused by the Great Depression. It is a notorious work of anti-authoritarian autobiographical writing that has divided readers due to its pervasive sexism. It is similar to other works by Bukowski, such as Post Office (1971) and Women (1978), both of which also have Henry Chinaski as their protagonists. Bukowski is sometimes referred to as the king of the American literary underground, as he even published a number of underground newspaper columns under the title Notes From a Dirty Old Man. Ham on Rye is sometimes viewed as a classic of 1980s American literature.

This guide refers to the 2002 First Ecco edition of Ham on Rye.

Content Warning: The novel contains depictions of sexual abuse, domestic abuse, misogyny, sexual harassment, mental illness, bestiality, alcohol addiction, animal cruelty, overt and damaging racism, child abuse, bullying, severe violence, death by suicide, and anti-gay bias. This guide sometimes quotes offensive or problematic language related to these topics. Nazi supporters and attitudes make appearances in the work. The novel also includes negative comments about those with disabilities.

Plot Summary

Henry Chinaski is the thinly-veiled pseudonym of author Charles Bukowski. Like Bukowski, Chinaski is born in Germany in the early 1920s. His family moves to America when he is very young. His earliest memories are from the family’s house in California. He remembers his father, Henry Senior, and his mother, Katherine, constantly fighting. They fight with each other, and they fight with Katherine’s mother, Emily. Henry’s grandfather, Leonard, has an alcohol addiction, as do his uncles. He occasionally visits them, but he does not understand their struggles due to his young age.

Henry begins to dislike his father from a young age. Though the Chinaski family is poor, Henry Senior insists on keeping his son away from the other poor children in the neighborhood. In school, Henry has few friends. He is bad at sports and witnesses a great deal of bullying. When Henry’s parents find out he got in a fight, his father beats him. Henry Junior has glimpses of his father’s infidelity and gradually develops a knowledge of sex. He is hit by a drunk driver, but Henry Senior complains they cannot get anything from the driver, who he calls a “penniless alcoholic.” At an airshow, Henry sees several people die in terrible crashes. He makes friends with boys such as Frank, Red, and Baldy. Henry is infatuated with a series of women, from girls his age to his schoolteachers to neighbors who he glimpses through the window of his house.

As the reality of the Great Depression hits, Henry begins to understand that his family is poor. His father loses his job but still goes to work each day so the neighbors will not think he is unemployed. In the eighth grade, Henry develops a severe case of acne, and he must go to the hospital. His treatment is free because his family is poor, and he endures many different medications and remedies, even though none seem to work. He is left with distinct scars on his face and body, which make him self-conscious. When his father gets a job, his treatment is no longer free and he must go without it.

Henry begins to write stories to entertain himself while he is confined to bed due to his acne. He discovers the local library and begins reading many books by many different authors. In high school, Henry has no real friends even though there are other boys with whom he spends his time. They unsuccessfully pursue girls, and they get into fights. Henry begins to doubt that he will ever have a happy future. He begins to suspect he can never be happy in a traditional way. He feels alienated and separate from a society that he does not understand.

Henry finds a job at a department store. He works as a stock clerk. When rich boys from his school visit the store, they mock Henry. He challenges them to a fight in the parking lot. Henry wins, but he loses his job. His parents are angry, and Henry spends the coming weeks searching half-heartedly for work. Most of the time, he lingers with the unemployed people in the town squares and drinks heavily. He decides to enroll in college as a way to pass the time. At college, he meets an aspiring author named Robert Becker, and he likes Becker’s writing. With events in Europe devolving into the violence of World War II, Henry notices the anti-German sentiment among his college professors. He resents this and, as a way of being contrarian, begins to advocate for the Nazis during class. Though he does not necessarily agree with Hitler on anything, he enjoys getting a reaction from his fellow students and professors. Some students take him seriously and invite him to their fascist organizations, though Henry quickly becomes disinterested.

Henry’s father finds a number of short stories Henry authored. He is furious and throws Henry out of the house. Henry finds an apartment of his own. He spends most of his time drunk. When friends visit, he invariably gets into fights with them. After one big fight with Becker, he is forced to leave his apartment. He plans to leave college and, on his last day, beats up a strong football player during a game. While walking around the city, Henry meets Becker, who joined the Marines. As Henry and Becker sit in a bar, they hear reports that Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Becker and all other military men are summoned to the military bases, and Henry wanders away into the city, searching for another drink.