1933 Was Bad Year [Hardcover]

Fante J (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up

Trapped in a small, poverty-ridden town in 1933, under pressure from his father to go into the family business, seventeen-year-old Dominic Molise yearns to fulfill his own dreams.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Fante began writing in 1929 and published his first short story in 1932. His first novel, Wait Until Spring, Bandini, was published in 1938 and was the first of his Arturo Bandini series of novels, which also include The Road to Los Angeles and Ask the Dust. A prolific screenwriter, he was stricken with diabetes in 1955. Complications from the disease brought about his blindness in 1978 and, within two years, the amputation of both legs. He continued to write by dictation to his wife, Joyce, and published Dreams from Bunker Hill, the final installment of the Arturo Bandini series, in 1982. He died on May 8, 1983, at the age of seventy-four.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (January 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0876856563
• ISBN-13: 978-0876856567
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,702,898 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Style Is Everything, March 18, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: 1933 Was A Bad Year (Paperback)

If I tell you that this story has been told before, don't let that put you off. This is a book that breaks your heart and it can do that because of Fante's talent as a writer. This was my first exposure to Fante and I haven't looked back. Every word has energy amd every line is thoughtful. It doesn't matter that you've heard the story before -- you've never heard it told like this

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent novel of the Italian-American experience, April 14, 2002

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 1933 Was A Bad Year (Paperback)

"1933 Was a Bad Year" is a posthumously published novel by John Fante, who died in 1983. "1933" tells the story of Dominic Molise, a 17-year old Italian-American living in Colorado. While his father, an out-of-work bricklayer, seeks to alleviate the family's poverty by earning money at the pool tables, Dominic dreams of becoming a successful baseball player.

"1933" is a superb slice of American life; both funny and sad, the book is full of vivid characters and memorable scenes. Probably may favorite character is Dominic's wrathful, acid-tongued grandmother, an Italian immigrant with a dislike for the United States.

"1933" offers a pungent taste of the Italian-American experience, and explores such issues as the gulf between immigrant parents and their American-born children. Baseball is a potent motif in the book, and I liked the way the left arm of pitcher Dominic is treated as a "character" with its own motivation. This is one of those novels that I wished would go on when I finished the last sentence; I will definitely be reading more of Fante's work.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal, full of life, dreams and reality, June 22, 1998

By 

Jared Young ([e-mail]) (Delaware, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1933 Was A Bad Year (Paperback)

This is one of the most alive books, both from an imagery standpoint and a spiritual one (and I don't mean spiritual in a religious way but it can be) that I have read. For a young writer who is trying to write from the heart, this novel is essential. A wonderful story of childhood and its dissipation into adulthood.