Ask the Dust, (Paperback)

from bjeans

Quite simply one of the best love stories I have ever read! Even though I found the protagonist faulty and ridiculous, it's those sort of traits along with Fante's ability to turn mundane prose into poetry that makes a reader like myself become smitten with the character. I would classify it as "...

from railarson

How is it that I never heard of quintessential Los Angeles author John Fante until now? St. Fante, the doomed Catholic romantic who presaged Kerouac as the steady-eyed chronicler among the invisible underclass of his generation. El Fante, the true spirit of LA, sitting up nights that refuse to co...

from SqueakyChu

I was surprised how much I enjoyed reading this book. It's the gritty story of Arturo Bandini, a young Italian aspiring writer living in Los Angeles who is infatuated with Camilla Lopez, a Mexican woman who works at a cafe he visits. She spurns his advances, yet he loves her more. Bandini is susp...

from Tsoys

Pity, poverty, and make-believe were free in Depression-era Los Angeles, a city of fallen angels and rusty dreams. Enter kid Arturo Bandini, a pure heart seeking fame and fortune among drunks, thieves, hacks, and floozies: "Twenty. I have reached the age of reason." Naive, swaggering, needy, he l...

from babiblack

I was in a library when I suddenly decided that I have to read something. Anything. Instead of searching for classical names, I let my curiosity send me where I wish to go, and I got this book. When I read the first pharagraph, I thought "This is my book" and didn't think twice. Every page turned...