Factotum (novel)

Factotum is the second novel by American author Charles Bukowski, published in 1975. The plot follows Henry Chinaski, Bukowski's alter ego, who has been rejected from the World War II draft and instead makes his way from one menial job to the next (hence a factotum).

Plot summary

Factotum takes place in 1944 and follows the life of perpetually unemployed alcoholic Henry Chinaski as he drifts through the city streets of lower class Los Angeles in search of a job that won't come between him and his first love: writing. He is consistently rejected by the only publishing house he respects, but is driven to continue by the knowledge that he could do better than the authors they continually publish. Chinaski soon begins sleeping with fellow barfly Jan, a kindred spirit he meets while drowning his sorrows at a bar. When a brief stint as a bookie finds him abandoned by the only woman with whom he is able to relate, a brief fling with gold-digging floozy Laura finds him once again falling into a morose state of perpetual drunkenness and unemployment.

Film adaptation

Release details

• Paperback – ISBN 978-0876852637, published in 1975 by Black Sparrow Books