Run With the Hunted: A Charles Bukowski Reader Book

Always a joy to hear Buk read, like the voice of an old friend. His tone betrays a gentle soul, somewhat at odds with his more callous/crass persona, and his delivery seems natural and unaffected. Like all of his recordings, this one provides bits and pieces of context between each selection, and his interactions with those others present are both revealing and entertaining in equal measure. Initially I questioned the producer for including so many retakes when the slurred bits could have easily been edited out, but the end result is a raw, uninterrupted document (with all its imperfections) that makes you feel like you're sitting in on something really quite intimate.

I didn't love this one quite as much as Hostage, and of course nothing beats The Bukowski Tapes, but a good listen all in all.