Pulp (1994), published shortly before his death, is the last novel by underground writer Charles Bukowski. The novel follows a cheap private detective who ambles through life with no urgency whatsoever. It's simultaneously an homage to and spoof of the pulp fiction genre and cheap serialized novels that reached prominence in the 1950s.
Charles Bukowski has a hardcore fanbase. Source: Wikimedia
Pulp: Author Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski was born on August 16, 1920. The Great Depression was the backdrop of his teenage years, providing the ever-present destitution and desperation in his works. When Bukowski was a teenager, a close friend introduced him to alcohol. Drinking and alcoholism would become recurring themes in his work, and Bukowski repeatedly used alcohol to make his life more bearable.
In adulthood, Bukowski spent his free time writing, gambling, drinking, and with a revolving door of lovers. His lifestyle features prominently in all his written works, but especially in the main character of Nicky Belane in Pulp.
Pulp would be the first book that did not feature Bukowski's literary alter ego, Henry Chinaski, as the main protagonist, although he has a cameo. Instead, Bukowski drew on other individuals he knew throughout his life to populate the novel. His publisher and mentor, John Martin, for example, has a character based on him named John Barton.
Bukowski knew he was nearing the end of his life when he was writing Pulp. He was grappling with his own fading health, old age, and mortality. While written as a parody of a genre, Pulp is also an homage to all the comics he grew up reading. Bukowski was encouraged to write and finish Pulp by his good friend and mentor, John Martin.
Charles Bukowski and John Martin had a unique relationship. Martin encouraged and supported Charles Bukowski to write after they met in 1966. To finance the start-up for Black Sparrow Press, Martin sold his rare D.H. Lawrence book collection. Black Sparrow Press grew to become the foremost independent publisher of poetry and fiction and published almost all of Bukowski's following work. He was able to make a living from the proceeds and work as a full-time writer for the rest of his life. Bukowski owed much of his success to Martin's unwavering support, and he acknowledged this in Pulp.
Bukowski wrote most of his work on a typewriter. Source: Unsplash Pulp: Characters
Below are the characters featured in Pulp.
Pulp: Summary
Pulp follows Nicky Belane on a series of seemingly random cases.
Nicky Belane considers himself the best detective in East Hollywood. However, he's self-sabotaging and destructive and is addicted to alcohol and gambling. Nicky is broke, so naturally, when he receives cases, he takes them. He gets a call from Lady Death. She wants him to find Celine, a famous French writer.
Louis-Ferdinand Céline is the pen name of the real-life French writer Louis Ferdinand Auguste Destouches, who lived from 1894 to 1961.
Unfortunately, Celine is believed to be already dead. Lady Death insists he is alive and that Nicky finds him as soon as possible. She offers to pay handsomely, so he takes on the case.
In between bouts of gambling and drinking, he receives another call. This time it is from John Barton. He requests that Nicky find the Red Sparrow. Nicky doesn't understand who or what the Red Sparrow is. Barton doesn't explain but insists Nicky's the right man for the job.
Nicky tails a lead on Celine. He bursts into an apartment only to be accosted by Celine's hired muscle, Brewster. He narrowly escapes by beating him with his camcorder.
Nicky has altercations with his landlord, his neighbor who works as a postman, and hoodlums. He receives another call. Jack Bass believes his wife Cindy is having an affair and wants Nicky to follow her. Events continue to become more surreal. The strange Mr. Groves wants Nicky to probe further into the possibility that his girlfriend is an alien.
Nicky stakes out Cindy Bass's apartment. He believes she is with another lover. He bursts into the apartment, only to realize that she is there with her husband. Irate, Jack Bass reaches for his revolver and fires at Nicky. He runs out of the building and finds his car. As Nicky drives away, Bass continues to unload his pistol at him.
Nicky discovers Cindy is sleeping with Billy French from the mortuary. Once Nicky is discovered by Billy, Nicky tries to shoot him, only to learn he's an alien. Fortunately, Jeannie Nitro intervenes and saves Nicky's life.
The story becomes more absurd, and often what is real isn't clear. Nicky is led to more dead ends. Eventually, he finds the Red Sparrow, which is a giant amorphous bird that envelops him.
Pulp: Analysis
Pulp is simultaneously a homage to and a parody of the pulp fiction novels Bukowski grew up reading. Many of his favorite authors wrote pulp. Detective Story Magazine and The Shadow Magazine, both publications featuring hard-boiled detectives, are good examples of what Bukowski spent his time reading as a kid.1
Pulp fiction - popular fiction that is considered low quality and in poor taste.
Pulp refers to the type of paper used for these serialized novels and works. It was a cheaper grade of paper, thus allowing for cheaper production and, ultimately, more affordable prices for the consumer. The sensationalized stories of pulp fiction have now entered popular media as a genre and aesthetic. Bukowski enjoyed this literature but also was well aware of its shortcomings. He could easily create it and, at the same time, make fun of it.
Pulp fiction is generally associated with low-brow humor, deviant behavior, and taboo subjects. In Pulp, Nicky spends much of his time investigating secret affairs and spying on couples having sex. In between cases, he drinks and gambles. Leads that Nicky follows usually end in a brawl or gunfight.
Pulp magazines often featured dangerous women and depraved men. Source: Wikimedia CommonsPulp: Themes
There are four main themes in Pulp: mortality, addiction, and procrastination.
Mortality
When he began writing Pulp, Bukowski knew he was going to die soon. He was ill and not getting better, and he wanted to pay respect to the literature he grew up reading. Pulp also reflected Bukowski's inner dialogue with his own mortality. In Pulp, Nicky constantly confronts death while doing his job. Virtually every case he takes ends up endangering his life. Yet, Nicky is content to spend time in between cases drinking and gambling. Nicky, like Bukowski, felt comfortable with a life of drinking and gambling, even though the lifestyle negatively affected their health and brought them closer to death.
Addiction
Addiction features prominently throughout Pulp and Charles Bukowski's work in general. He was a frequent drinker and ended up in the hospital with a stomach ulcer. This prompted him to quit drinking heavily but not drinking altogether. The main character of Pulp, Nicky Belane, spends his time drinking while on the job and during his leisure time.
Procrastination
Despite his procrastination and lack of ambition, things mostly work out for Nicky. This alludes very much to Bukowski's life. Jobs were a means to an end for Bukowski, and he had no aspirations beyond writing for a living. He continued to write while working menial jobs.
Nicky does very much the same. He takes on jobs when they fall into his lap. Yet, he has no sense of urgency, and often the cases solve themselves with little help from Nicky. Like the cases that Nicky receives, Bukowski received encouragement from his publisher John Martin that kept him writing. Bukowski only felt motivated to write (just like Nicky only felt motivated to solve cases) if assignments were given to him. and John Martin wanted Bukowski to write one last novel. Bukowski never thought he was particularly good at writing, but he enjoyed doing it.
Like Bukowski, Nicky leads a very aimless life with his lackluster ambition and his complacency with his detective job.
Randomness
Events of Pulp are haphazard and without prompt. Cases fall into the lap of Nicky. Some events have no basis in reality. As the story progresses, it becomes more surreal and eventually completely absurd. This reflects Bukowski's attitude toward life. It's random and futile to attempt to understand what happens to someone.
Pulp: Symbols
There are two recurring symbols in Pulp.
Lady Death
Bukowski had troubled relationships with women. He felt that many of his lovers were bad for him. Yet, he couldn't help but feel attracted to them and desire their company. Lady Death is simultaneously beautiful and repulsive, representing the many relationships of Bukowski.
The Red Sparrow
For Bukowski, Black Sparrow Press was a lifeline. It was also the bane of his professional writing career. Throughout the novel, Nicky is plagued by thoughts of what the Red Sparrow is and what it could be. It's an enigmatic entity that he cannot fathom or imagine. Bukowski didn't dwell on whether he deserved to be successful or not. Often he just accepted life as it had been given to him. However, he couldn't ignore the strange happenings around him and would often ponder them.
How does Bukowski's relationship with his publisher reflect the ending with Nicky being enveloped by the Red Sparrow?
Pulp - Key takeaways
- Pulp is the last book by writer Charles Bukowski.
- It follows the cheap detective Nicky Belane who takes life as it comes.
- The plot and characters become more surreal and absurd as the story progresses.
- The main themes are mortality, addiction, procrastination, and randomness.
- Two symbols are Lady Death and the Red Sparrow.
- Barry Miles. Charles Bukowski, (2005).
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