From Publishers Weekly
Fante continues to follow in the literary footsteps of his famous father, John Fante (
Ask the Dust), with another bruising autobiographical novel about his alter ego, Bruno Dante. When the publication of his short story collection is delayed indefinitely, Dante reluctantly returns to his previous career of L.A. limo driver. His boss, however, first insists that he sober up. He does, and launches into a downward cycle of recovery and inebriation. During his descent, he meets an obnoxious Hollywood producer interested in an adaptation of one of Dante's stories and an Old Hollywood matriarch who might be the key to his salvation. Fante puts Dante though many harrowing moments—waking from a blackout with a gash in his neck; having a spurned lover superglue his penis to his thigh. Like his late father, Fante views life in unsparing fashion, but he seems a little too enamored of his alter ego's downhill trajectory while offering very little insight into the source of Dante's personal demons. The result is a novel that disappointingly titillates more than it illuminates.
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Review
“Fante’s voice is strong, fun, smart and edgy and it makes 86’d a great read.” (San Francisco Book Review )
“With Fante, and his father before him, there are never any false feelings or pretentiousness in the work... you know he has been where he writes from, and judging by the sound of things, it has been one hell of a wild ride.” (Sacramento Book Review )
“Fante offers moments that brush the genius of Bukowski and Hubert Selby, Jr.” (Elle Magazine )
“If you like your prose vodka-soaked, soulful, and bleeding on the page, then Fante is your man.” (Ben Meyers, 3AM Magazine )
“Told in a free-flowing narrative style that features a number of memorable characters, Fante’s novel is dark, bleak, gritty, and inventively vulgar. It’s also honest, painful, and occasionally tender.” (Booklist )
“Dan Fante is an authentic literary outlaw.” (New York Times )
“Fante is a brilliantly economical stylist . . . sad, bitter, yet somehow infused with hope.” (The Face )
Readers who don’t hang up... won’t be able to stop listening (New York Times )
” I can describe Dan Fante’s work in one word... sublime.” (Soud-Ouest, France. )
“...writing that is a violent lyrical blizzard....” (Uncut Magazine )
