Ask the Dust

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Summary: Fante's best
Review: John Fante has remained obscure despite the best efforts of a number of formidable academics and writers (Charles Bukowski not the least among them). Why? It could be the naked honesty displayed in works such as Ask the Dusk, Wait Until Spring Bandini, and The Brotherhood of the Grape. Fante doesn't lie, even for his own benefit, and that doesn't set well Those Who Matter (mostly liars all). Ask the Dust is Fante expelling the energy, love, frustration and unbalanced joy of his youth. It's a beautiful and sometimes startling piece of work.

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Summary: One of the best unknown writers of this century.
Review: Ask the Dust is the story of Fante's ambivalent alter ego, Arturo Bandini, and how he left his Italian-American family in Colorado to become a "famous writer" in Los Angeles of the 1930's. In it, Bandini lives on Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles, writing furiously to his publisher (played in real life by H. L. Mencken) and occasionally, surprisingly, being published. Endearing one sentence and repulsive the next, Fante's Bandini is the person inside all of us trying to get out, whether we like it or not. He does and says what we wish we could, but know better not to. Fante's work was influential in the writing of such writers as Joan Didion and Charles Bukowski. In fact, Bukowski often said that he always wanted to write like Fante, but doesn't have the finesse. Fante is definitely worth the time to explore and enjoy

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Summary: This Book Saved My Life
Review: I was in the deepest depression when I read this book. Back in my early 20's a decade ago. This book saved my life. I am not kidding. And if you ask my friends, they will tell you I'm not the kidding type.
The book is pure emotion, as Buk says in the intro. Pure Emotion.
Read it.

Rating:
Summary: A Non-Mainstream Classic -- Not to be Missed!
Review: John Fante was a fresh new voice in the 1930s, and his raw, emotional, flowing prose seems fresh even now. Today, John Fante's sheer honesty stands out as if he found a true window into the soul that later writers never found. It is the tale of a young Italian American called Arturo Bandini, who moves down to Los Angeles from a cold northern town in Colorado, to follow his dream of becoming a great writer. Bandini is a fantastic character and he appears in a number of other novels by John Fante. Bandini is over-emotional, sometimes aggressive and hateful but sometimes gentle and vulnerable. He is blessed with huge ambition and an apparently unshakable confidence in his abilities, while at the same time he is cursed with a despairing sense of self-doubt. Above all, he is touchingly and brutally honest about himself and the world around him.

Bandini longs to own some of the riches of the American dream, and above all he longs for acceptance. When he meets the Mexican waitress Camilla Lopez, the tale of the poverty-stricken artist becomes a tale of aching desire, longing, confusion and madness. John Fante lovingly describes the confused feelings of Bandini for the beautiful Camilla; the longing he feels mixed with the strange disgust, the feelings of inadequacy and fear of rejection. It is when Fante is writing about these extreme emotions that you really feel the power of his writing. There are countless examples of the flowing beauty and power of his prose. One that comes to mind is his description of when Bandini goes to a sleazy dancing hall and ogles the dancers along with the other men, but stops to notice the men around him "shouting their share of a sick joy that belonged to me."

Camilla and Bandini's feelings for each other alternate from a strange longing to a violent, mutual disgust. They insult each other because of their non-American origins, something which hurts them both. In one of the most moving passages of the book, Bandini pours forth his feelings on feeling left out, always feeling to be an outsider because of his Italian origins, after he insults Camilla. This is a theme that comes up a lot in John Fante's work: the outsider, the bullied one, finding himself victimising and bully others, only to deeply regret his actions later. Fante is a master at honestly portraying the multitude of conflicting emotions people feel when they are in love, when they feel desire, when they have ambition, when they feel rejected and when they feel confusion about their very identity. If you have ever felt any of these emotions you will find something you recognize in "Ask the Dust".

John Fante is an unfairly neglected author and this novel is an unfairly neglected classic. He was only saved from total obscurity because Charles Bukowski championed his books. They were two very different writers, and Fante predated Bukowski by many years. The book's not perfect, but then its author was still young when he wrote it. As it is - it remains a amazing one-of-a-kind novel, non-mainstream perhaps, but utterly unique. Give yourself a break from the cookie-cutter, soul-less "bestsellers." Don't miss out on this great book! Along with Ask the Dust, I recommend Post Office by Bukowski and The Losers Club by Richard Perez. Thanks to the reviewer who mentioned The Losers's Club -- a book I can't stop thinking about since I picked a used copy off Amazon.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and Sad
Review: I, like many other reviewers here, came to this book through Bukowski. After putting the book down, I have come to the conclusion that Buk never quite excelled his model. Fante crafted a book so beautiful that it hurts at times just to read it. I was STUNNED. If you like Bukowski, Henry Miller, Hamsun and the rest, YOU HAVE TO READ THIS!

Rating:
Summary: Unconventional on Every Level
Review:
I came to ASK THE DUST through Bukowski, and I must say I truly liked this book. The writing is laid-back, not like typical literary fiction. It's also very lyrical: a la Walt Whitman -- whenever Fante rhapsodizes about L.A. And follows the misadventures of Arturo Bandini, the "stand-in" for Fante (like Henry Chinaski is for Charles Bukowski). It's easy to see why Bukowski loved Fante. If you've ever felt like a struggling outsider, a lost soul, you'll definitely enjoy this novel. It's unlike anything I ever read before. Another recommendation: THE LOSERS CLUB by Richard Perez


Rating:
Summary: This book is simply beautiful
Review: Like most readers I read this book because Bukowski recommended it in, I think, *Women."

I was delighted by this affecting, simple, short book, and subsequently went on to read most of the other available works by Fante. This one is my favorite. It is a portrait of the education of an insecure artist as a young man - struggling in most respects and ultimately becoming a published author. This book is simply beautiful.

This book clearly affected Bukowski and helped him find *his* own style.

A side note - I have selected books randomly from library shelves and read them and have myself found two amazing books (in a sea of uninteresting junk) that I would have otherwise never encountered. I guess that in the era of Amazon.com, where you can read all about the book (from professional reviews to amateur ravings to Amazon.com's AI recommending books based on your browsing patterns), before even seeing the book - the serendipitous approach is less common.

Try this novel and also *Wait Until Spring, Bandini,* and *Road to Los Angeles.* Enchanting books.

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Summary: Arturo Bandini...A Timeless Character...Ask The Dust
Review: While screening an art film under consideration for a local film festival, there was a reference in the screenplay to John Fante's "Ask the Dust": "The greatest book ever written," according to the protagonist. Uninformed, I searched for the book title at my local library, thinking the greatest book ever written would certainly be there, after all this is a major library system in a major city. To my surprise, it wasn't included among the John Fante titles.

So, I "Googled" and found the book in paperback on Amazon.com.

After reading the first page I was hooked. Written by John Fante in 1938, Arturo Bandini, the fictional narrator of this book changes from first person to the third person effortlessly. Cynical, confused, egomaniacal, seemingly asexual (or was he "queer" as Camilla Lopez, his Mayan Princess, concludes after several attempts to arouse him - maybe that was as close to portraying a gay man as was permissible at the time), sadomasochistic, down right mean, believable and often endearing, "Ask the Dust" leaves you wishing there was more - but in awe of Fante for knowing when to conclude a great work!

Set in 1930's Los Angeles, as I read this book I found myself envisioning a black and white film running vividly through my mind. It is as though I WAS Arturo Bandini and I was seeing that dusty, hot, hungry time through his eyes. As crazed as he is, surprisingly I empathized with his warped view of the world, and by seeing the world through this lens, I will never again see anything in quite the same way. His ghost will whisper in my ear for years to come. Can a work of fiction possibly offer more than that?

This is a jewel! I have found a new favorite fiction author, John Fante! Sad he died in 1983; happy to hear there is a renewed interest in his work and that he was a prolific writer!

Rating:
Summary: Bukowski convinced me to read this
Review: And if he was still alive I would tell him to stop plugging a sub-par work. John Fante does not posses the raw spirit of Celine or the Buk master.

Rating:
Summary: Real Standout in a Tired Genre
Review: This book is about a struggling young writer in depression-era Los Angeles. Yeah, you've probably read quite a few books about struggling writers in tough circumstances, but this one is special. Fante utilizes clean, efficient, tight prose about the shady side of life without becoming a cartoon (ehem, Mr. Bukowksi) or going over the top with theatrics to show how much of a sleaze bag he is (eh-HEM, Charles, that means you). Highly entertaining (apparently Southern California was filled with freaks even back in the 1930s) but also literate and real.