First published 1972
In Bukowski's cult classic, a down-on-his-luck writer navigates the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles, scraping by on odd jobs and a steady stream of booze. As he drifts through a world of cheap hotels, horse races, and run-ins with the law, he reckons with life's cruelties and his own failures. But amidst the grime and desperation, he finds moments of hard-won grace, penning biting, darkly humorous observations on the human condition. Mockingbird is an unvarnished portrait of an outsider's struggle to survive and make sense of it all.
Genres: fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: outsider-protagonist, slice-of-life
Setting: Los Angeles
Period: 20th-century
160 pages · Hardcover · Black Sparrow Pr
Content warnings: alcohol-abuse, substance-abuse