“I didn’t ask any questions. Everything I wanted to know was written in tortured phrases across the desolation of her face.”

John Fante came into my life as part of my Charles Bukowski addiction.  Both of these writers appeal to me because of the rawness in their writing.

It captures truth, beauty and simplicity. A little like Steinbeck and Hemingway, but not as literary.

Fante’s fictional works were all but out of print until Bukowski created a resurgence in popularity in the late 70’s. There are four books that document the life of Fante’s semi-autobiographical character, Arturo Bandini – now know as the Bandini Quartet.

“I AM ARTURO BANDINI!”

Ask the Dust is a really funny novel. Bandini writes a short story that is published, but blatantly ignored by the people around him (even though he is always self promoting it.) It’s evident from the beginning that he isn’t as popular as he thinks. There is a nice little scene when he first meets his landlady and shows her his short story in a magazine; a few moments later she asks for his name. Bandini says:

“…And I was disappointed, for already she had forgotten the author of The Little Dog Laughed and his name printed in large type on the magazine” (Ask the Dust, p. 51).

There are funny bits like this throughout the book. When Bandini meets Camilla Lopez – a waitress – his life takes a number of twists and turns. It’s a kind of love hate relationship, that just never seems to go smoothly.

Ask the Dust, documents how Bandini, although a good writer never really gets the work – life balance he wants. There is always something missing in his life, and I think this theme speaks directly to most people in society. No matter what they have, they always want a little bit more.

That said, I love the animosity Bandini feels towards his place in the world, causing him to continually battle his own demons throughout the novel.

It is evident that Fante carefully constructed each sentence, as the words sing as you read. I even read a passage to my wife, and she simply replied that it sounded like poetry.

I’ll end with the part that was so unexpected I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. The scene is in the restaurant where Camilla works; after Bandini has done something nasty to her, Fante writes:

“Then she said a strange thing; I remember it clearly. ‘I hope you die of heart failure,’ she said. ‘Right there in that chair.’ (p.35)

Pages: 194

Rating: 9/10