Rating: 
Summary: Outrageous Comedy
Review: "The Road to Los Angeles" is Fante's first novel. He began it in 1933 and finished in 1936. The publishers rejected it and it was published about 50 years later by Black Sparrow press after the authors death. This is Fante's best novel and one of the funniest most enjoyable books I have read to date. Reading this is a wonder and a revelation, the prose raw and fresh, honest and hilarious. The story follows Arturo Bandini, a prideful fool of an eighteen year old as he makes his way in 1930s California. He lives with his mother and sister, works in a cannery, and aspires to be a great writer. Arturo has read too many books and has got hold of some bad philosophy. Fante uses this to poke fun at Nietsche's and Hitler's "superman" weltanschauung (worldview), which the befuddled Arturo pontificates every chance he gets. At the point when Nietzsche loses his mind he is said to have been watching a man whip an old horse, Nietzsche burst into tears and hugs the horse weeping uncontrollably. Fante uses this when in the book Arturo sees an old hunchback woman smiling in the park, his eyes drenced he carries her basket for her. After feeling pure empathy for her life and pain he says goodbye to Nietzsche and Schopenhauer and runs home and apologizes to his mother. This doesn't last of course and he goes back to being the same old Arturo. Early in the novel he enacts a hilarious though disturbing blood purge ,"for the good of the Fatherland", against some crabs he imagined had questioned the might of Superman Bandini. Later in the book at times when he is down on himself he refers to himself as a crabkiller. There is much, much more. Please read this marvel of a novel by John Fante.
Rating:
Summary: First Rate Underground Classic
Review: "The Road to Los Angeles" tells the story of Arturo Bandini, a compulsive, emotional young Italian American who feels that he has a calling to a higher purpose, and has a hilariously unshakeable confidence that he will soon escape the drudgery of his life. In this instalment of the Bandini saga, young Arturo is eighteen, he has just left school, and he finds himself having to support his mother and sister with a succession of menial jobs. Because of his own pigheadedness, his compulsive behaviour, and his conviction that he is better than the drudgery that surrounds him because he knows long words and reads Nietzche, Bandini manages to get fired from all his jobs. Eventually he gets a job at a fish cannery, and he comes home every night stinking of fish, secretly plotting his apotheosis with his plans to become a great writer.
The way John Fante so brilliantly portrays the burning yearning for something more and raw emotional intensity of youth, has a lot in common with that other American classic, J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye". If you grew up thinking you were Holden Caulfield, you'll love this, and it will remind you why you loved reading in the first place. Bandini is compulsive, selfish, and foolish, but he's one of us! He's one of those kids who is never satisfied with what's there in front of him, one of those kids who feels he had something inside him to give to the world, if only the world would want it. He's one of those kids who escapes through reading, who wants to become clever by reading lots of books with big words. Read this. And then read everything else by John Fante, especially "Ask the Dust". You will laugh with Bandini, and you will cry with Bandini. He will make you remember things about your hopes and dreams that you thought you had forgotten. Another recommendation would be, of course, Post Office by Bukowski and The Losers Club by Richard Perez
Rating:
Summary: Spellbinding
Review: Does it get any better than this?
This was the first Fante book I read (thank you Amazon Reviewers). I can't think of many books that were this enjoyable, funny, and easy to read. Although Bandini seems hopelessly twisted, he is so passionate and spellbinding that the story just flows and flows... Nothing less than 5 stars does justice in my mind. Read this book and find yourself searching for more.
Rating: 
Summary: No props for Fante
Review: If you are interested in reading a fairly non-dimensional story whose main character is a pedantic, shiftless, word-spewing [person] living life in a tin can, then this is the perfect book for you. I tried on several occasions to read Fante in light of Bukowski's praise. Comparatively, the writing is less authentic, postured and less than marginally vivifying. The repetitive contrivance of any dialogue involving the main character (Arturo) becomes inherently annoying as he launches into bombastic phraseology where other characters are mere sounding boards. In short, stick to Buk.
Rating: 
Summary: Bandini's first
Review: John Fante is something of a curiosity and i think a little background work may be necessary. It would be hard to call Fante well-known, although there is certainly an element of the literary public that will adore his work, mostly because they have come at it from the recommendations of Charles Bukowski, who unashamedly idolised Fante. Fante is probably clearer and more accessible than Bukowski, but the latter has that shock factor that will draw you in the first place. In fairness, Bukowski was writing in a post-war liberal era, Fante was confined by depression era sensibilities and the difference is clear in the freedom of expression. Anyway, Fante held grandiose ambitions of becoming a world-renowned author and it is hard to argue that he lacked the talents. His short stories were published first and then the first novel (Wait Until Spring, Bandini) followed in 1938, then the masterpiece, Ask the Dust (1939). It seems certain Fante would have made a name for himself had his luck held in 1939, but his publisher went bankrupt and there was no money to promote the novel. So, as time passed Fante turned to film scripts to pay the rent and was lost to literature until, in 1982, Dreams From Bunker Hill appeared, just a year before Fante passed away. My simple point is that Fante has been neglected and if you happen to stumble upon his work, you may be amazed that his is not a household name. Remember, Fante was a contemporary of Hemingway and Fitzgerald and where Fitzgerald had the melancholy finesse, Hemingway had the bold style and passion of the storyteller and Fante was perhaps the writer of a generation to possess that cold, visceral honesty that is so engaging and, at times, depressing. This novel, The Road to LA, is another curiosity for it was Fante's first completed novel, the manuscript finished in 1936, and it marked the beginning of the Arturo Bandini saga (oft seen as the alter ego of the author). The book was rejected and not published until 1985, after the author's death. It is not the best piece from the author, sympathy for Bandini is harder to come by, most likely because Fante seems less accessible, more introspective than elsewhere. The story is simple enough, we follow the 18-yr old Bandini as he struggles in the depression-era. He is a poor kid, a loner and he is lost in his own imagination. The perpetual belief in his own superiority and his own ability as a great writer (the Great Bandini!) keep him going and drive him onwards. But these are the fantasies of a child, detached from reality and hopelessly angst-ridden. Perhaps it is just my predilection, but i find the tales of the young man and the young boy more interesting and more heartfelt than this one of the adolescent. It is a genuinely great read and i consider Fante like a soulmate on the back of the Bandini works, but this is certainly not the best of the lot.
Rating: 
Summary: Tender and uplifting coming-of-age novel
Review: John Fante's rebel anti-hero, Arturo Bandini, is a would-be Nietzschean overman, a self-proclaimed genius and a writer with lofty pretensions and vaunted aspirations. Scornful of the rest of mankind and confident of his own superiority, he believes himself to be a strong man above the herd of slaves and weaklings... This is, at least, what he believes himself to be, as he whiles his days away supporting his aged mother, getting into bitter conflicts with his disapproving sister, moving from one menial job to another, enjoying sexual fantasies of girlie pictures of impossible women, and torturing crabs and fishes to death. The novel contains many hilarious moments, from the lilting, pedantic speech of the protagonist (who seems to be a foolish and impetuous adolescent who's read too many books) down to the acrimonious exchanges between the embattled characters. The language, though spare and direct, is very elegant and manages to accomplish some strangely lyrical effects. The best moment in the book is Bandini's "coming-of-age", as it were, the scene in which he turns his back on his dominating mother and sister (an echo perhaps, of his own intellectual hero's, Nietzsche's, turbulent relationship with his mother and sister) packs his suitcase and heads for the train station. It is then that Bandidni's spiritual growth reaches its summation. The ending is an uplifting and tender conclusion to a life submerged by poverty and frustration, though soon to reach the dawn of self-realisation. And what of Fante's parodic "takes" on "Thus Spake Zarathustra"? - Brilliant!
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, Bukowski-esque Homage to 30's LA
Review: John Fante's youthful Arturo Bandini is an intriguing, bizarre and absolutely unique character. Growing up poor, in East L.A., Bandini endures a succession of menial jobs to help support his mother and sister. His odd, self-taught upbringing gives him a huge vocabulary and the willingness to employ it at a moment's notice. Bandini is insecure, shy, well-spoken and monumentally unfit for adulthood. _The Road to Los Angeles_ describes Bandini's rites of passage and inevitable coming of age. Covering his relationships with "hidden women", his attempt at a first novel and a spate of unabashed cruelty towards various creatures, the protaganist is humorous but apparently teetering on the brink of insanity. Bandini's BB-gun-fueled "war with the crabs" is a wonderfully comic extravaganza of unwarranted viciousness... "I shot crabs all that afternoon, until my shoulder hurt behind the gun and my eyes ached behind the gunsight. I was Dictator Bandini, Ironman of Crabland. This was another Blood Purge for the Fatherland. The had tried to unseat me, those damned crabs... had actually questioned the might of Superman Bandini! Well, they were going to get a lesson they would never forget. This was going to be the last revolution they'd never attempt, by Christ." Fante is eminently readable and this book was particularly enjoyable. And, yes, I am a fan of Charles Bukowski as well ;-).
Rating:
Summary: Astoundingly Bad
Review: Let me start this off by mentioning that I like most of John Fante's writing. He gets a little too mean-spirited for me at times, but in general I find him interesting.
This novel, on the other hand, shocks me by how bad it is. It's the story of this adolescent jerk who is also totally pompous. As someone who, like many people, could easily have been described as a pompous, adolescent jerk as a teenager, I thought I'd be able to relate to or enjoy this. Boy was I wrong. The only reason I even finished this thing was because I was on an airplane and didn't have anything else to do. Now I wish I hadn't, because it has soured me a bit on Fante. Some people whose opinions I respect seem to like this book, but I have no idea how. It left me angry and depressed, like Fante was pranking me from beyond the grave, wasting my time when I could've been reading something else.
And to the guy who compared this embarassment to A Confederacy of Dunces: What are you, illiterate? Toole's novel is the funniest book I've ever read by about 1000 miles. There is nothing similar about the two except they each have a protagonist who lives via a misplaced emulation of his favorite philosopher (wildly different philosophers, by the way: Boethius and Nietzsche, there is no comparison). Don't read this book, read Toole, Nietzsche, or Mencken instead, even if you've already read them. Hell, read a copy of Tiger Beat or Seventeen magazine before this crap.
Rating:
Summary: One of the top 5 funniest American novels
Review: The readers who are lambasting this novel obviously have no idea who Fante was or the great influence HL Mencken played in his development as a writer. What makes this book so incredibly funny is how perfectly the adolescent narrator parrots the language, style and philosophy of Mencken and Nietzsche. The readers who have bashed this book obviously never read Mencken or Nietzsche. I suggest they do so before they make bigger jackasses of themselves. This book is easily as funny as and eerily similar to A Confederacy of Dunces, which it predates by some thirty years.
Rating:
Summary: Good For a First Novel
Review: This book shows Fante still bumping around somewhat, trying to get in the groove of working outside of the short story format that he had already mastered. The results are mixed, and I definitely don't agree with those who say that this is his masterpiece. People always say that about a famous writer's first "unpublishable" novel, generally overlooking the possibility that it might not be due to its groundbreaking style but because it contains major flaws. For anyone to call this work groundbreaking shows that they haven't read very many novelists from the 1930s. It's pretty tame stuff. Writers like Nathanael West and Horace McCoy, just to name two, were pushing the envelope further than Fante. And in England, there was Lewis and APES OF GOD. I'm not knocking him, ASK THE DUST is one of my favorite novels, but he should be put in the proper perspective and not praised uncritically. ROAD TO LOS ANGELES rambles and feels like a short story that went on a bit too long. It definitely didn't hold my attention like BANDINI , DUST, or BROTHERHOOD OF THE GRAPE, and overall, structurally speaking, it shares more with the flawed DREAMS FROM BUNKER HILL than these other works. I found myself pushing through to the end just because it was Fante's first novel. If it were anyone else, I probably would have given up on it. Sure, there are great moments but it has major cohesion issues.
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