Ask The Dust

One of the great novels of L.A., a semi-autobiographical story of a struggling writer ('Fante was my God', Charles Bukowski)

Written of and from the gut and the heart . . . Fante was my god

A powerful and moving read

A tough and beautifully realised tale - affecting, powerful and poignant

This stunning novel, as Charles Bukowski's 1980 foreword outlines, was the reason he became a writer. Is there any better recommendation?

Bandini is a magnificent creation, and his discovery is not before time

John Fante was born in Denver on 8 April 1909 and migrated to Los Angeles in his early twenties. Wait Until Spring, Bandini (1938), his first novel, began the saga of Arturo Bandini, a character whose story continues in The Road to Los Angeles , Ask the Dust and Dreams from Bunker Hill - collectively known as The Bandini Quartet. Fante published several other novels, as well as stories, novellas and screenplays, in his seventy-four years, including The Brotherhood of the Grape (1977) and 1933 Was A Bad Year (posthumously, 1985). He was recognised in 1987 with a PEN Lifetime Achievement Award in Los Angeles, four years after his death.