Ask the Dust

English language

ISBN:
978-0-06-082255-2
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4 stars (12 reviews)

Ask the Dust is the most popular novel of Italian-American author John Fante, first published in 1939 and set during the Great Depression era in Los Angeles. It is one of a series of novels featuring the character Arturo Bandini as Fante's alter ego, a young Italian-American from Colorado struggling to make it as a writer in Los Angeles. The novel is widely regarded as an American classic, regularly on college syllabi for American literature. The book is a roman à clef, much of it rooted in autobiographical incidents in Fante's life. The novel influenced Charles Bukowski significantly. In 2006, screenwriter Robert Towne adapted the novel into a film, Ask the Dust, starring Salma Hayek and Colin Farrell.

6 editions

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.
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