Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good woodcut drawings, stories of Catholic youth,
By
This review is from: Dago Red (Hardcover)
This is my first John Fante book. Little did I know the copy I checked out from Northern Illinois University is a rare first edition. One of the five copies available through Amazon is signed by Fante and sells for $2,000. The cheapest copy is $180. No matter. I don't collect books.
The woodcut drawings by Valenti Angelo are beautiful, as is the feel of the thick pages. The 13 short stories revolve around a Catholic Italian family living in or near Denver. Fante's style is very simple and direct. Some of his phrasings -- "Oh, boy!" -- have a dated 1930s charm. The childhood stories, like "The Road to Hell" (which describes the spiritual battle of a good Catholic boy who steals a $5 baseball glove) are pithy, a little too aw-shucks and sincere, but well-written. The last few stories feature adults and are the best in the book -- "Odyssey of a Wop," "Home, Sweet Home," "The Wrath of God," and "Hail Mary" all give a glimpse into Italian-American family and community life and into the consciousness of a fiery young man, good at sports, angry at his father, and struggling to make a name for himself. I have no doubt I'll read more of Fante. I doubt my next selection will be a rare first edition. I first heard about Fante through Charles Bukowski, who was a fan and even wrote a poem about Fante meeting William Faulkner. I met my friend George the other day and he asked me what I was reading. When I told him Fante he said Fante introduced him to Bukowski. That's kind of nice, two authors of two generations, mutual friends nonetheless, steer their fans to each other.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
