decadent_and_depraved reviewed Ask the Dust by John Fante
Review of 'Ask the Dust' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
In the Wait Until Spring, Bandini, Bandini is endearing, for he is a kid, growing up in a poor and messy household while struggling with puberty. It is not a mind-blowing work by any means, but it does hit the feels.
In the The Road to Los Angeles, Bandini takes on a grotesque from. He is angry, hateful, and resentful. His vanity knows no bounds and his nastiness is unparalleled. Yet, you can understand him. He is pitiful. His behavior is less a product of careful consideration and more the result of a painful upbringing. And, ultimately, Bandini functions as a rather tragic figure in that work. Truly a mirror that many young adults who dare to gaze at would be illuminated by. In that sense, it is a better The Catcher in the Rye both in its portrayal of fervorous rebellion and tragedy of youthful hubris.
We …
In the Wait Until Spring, Bandini, Bandini is endearing, for he is a kid, growing up in a poor and messy household while struggling with puberty. It is not a mind-blowing work by any means, but it does hit the feels.
In the The Road to Los Angeles, Bandini takes on a grotesque from. He is angry, hateful, and resentful. His vanity knows no bounds and his nastiness is unparalleled. Yet, you can understand him. He is pitiful. His behavior is less a product of careful consideration and more the result of a painful upbringing. And, ultimately, Bandini functions as a rather tragic figure in that work. Truly a mirror that many young adults who dare to gaze at would be illuminated by. In that sense, it is a better The Catcher in the Rye both in its portrayal of fervorous rebellion and tragedy of youthful hubris.
We finally come to Ask the Dust and this is where my patience for Bandini's antics comes to an end. While the work is still highly readable, Fante made sure of that, it lacks any real substance. Bandini is no longer endearing nor is he tragic. He is, simply put, a boring twat with nothing interesting going on. Be a twat all you want, I will be the last one to judge, but at least be an interesting fucking twat. Be a twat I would make out with, fight with, converse with, in other words, someone I wouldn't mind spending my time shooting the shits with. There was not enough BIM BIM BIM in this work!
