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The John Fante Reader [Paperback]

John Fante (Author), Stephen Cooper (Author)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Book Description

December 24, 2002

It's not every day that a writer, almost unheard of in his lifetime, emerges twenty years after his death as a voice of his generation. But then again, there aren't many writers with such irrepressible genius as John Fante.

The John Fante Reader is the important next step in the reintroduction of this influential author to modern audiences. Combining excerpts from his novels and stories, as well as his never-before-published letters, this collection is the perfect primer on the work of a writer -- underappreciated in his time -- who is finally taking his place in the pantheon of twentieth-century American writers.


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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.


Product Details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial (December 24, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060959487
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060959487
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,590,385 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
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 (3)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Inside the world of Fante, May 14, 2002
By 
Angela Stubbs (Sherman Oaks, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The John Fante Reader (Hardcover)
Stephen Cooper has done more justice to telling Fante's story than anyone. It is Steve Cooper who has brought Fante's stories back into the limelight again, giving him the voice he so desperately needed (and deserved) when he was alive. The John Fante Reader is a fantastic compilation of stories from all of Fante's work. From beginning to end, the reader is allowed to follow Fante on his journey as a young boy and into adulthood. This is a fabulous read if you have yet to be indoctrinated into the world of Fante as well as if you already love Fante and his out-of-control imagination and storytelling. This Reader puts together little bits and pieces of his best work. I have not laughed as much as I did reading the escapades of Fante's characters, or cry. He is raw and human and so alive in all of his writing. You won't be sorry for having read this. In fact, it will probably prompt you to run out and buy all of his books and read them one by one. It is almost like being teased, only getting to read bits and pieces from each story here. But they are fabulous stories, nonetheless.

I love this book and that stems largely from the fact that I love Fante. You don't have to be Catholic or ITALIAN to appreciate him. A huge thank you to Steve Cooper for putting this out in the world for everyone to enjoy.

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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fante is amazing, November 14, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: The John Fante Reader (Paperback)
I somehow couldn't get through Fante's Ask the Dust but this collection has me riveted. It's raw, powerful stuff and I'm embarrassed to find so much I admired in a more famous writer (Chinaski) apparently lifted from here (ample credit given, albeit). This is wrenching stuff. How did Fante's reputation get sidetracked? Kind of reminds me of another great writer, Richard Yates, who somehow got lost in the shuffle --jaw-droppingly awesome stuff that just went thwooop over the heads of the "important" critics.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great introduction that'll have you craving more!, May 3, 2007
By 
This review is from: The John Fante Reader (Paperback)
I think the reviewer, Queequeg, who thought this book 'Racist, Mysogynist, and Dated,' missed the point completely. That she is calling him a 2nd rate Steinbeck demonstrates that she cannot read Fante for he is, 'an original voice'. Secondly, her statement that he is 'quaint and offensive' by today's standards' says it all. Today's standards?! Please! Today's standards are hardly a yardstick by which to measure great literature. 'Today's standards' are themselves 'offensive'. Great literature by it's very definition is that which has stood the test of time and Fante, though underrated and overlooked, has and will!! Long live John Fante!!

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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
I would stare at the strange picture, kissing it and crying over it, happy because once it had been true. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
drunken pig
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Los Angeles, Father Ramponi, Arturo Bandini, Uncle Mingo, Bunker Hill, John Fante, Miss Quinlan, Svevo Bandini, The Little Dog Laughed, Long Beach, Sin City, Brotherhood of the Grape, Good God, Guido Toscana, Maria Scarpi, Point Dume, Ask the Dust, Father John, New York, Vera Rivken, Wine of Youth, Holy Ghost, Imperial Poolhall, San Francisco, Columbia Buffet
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