The Big Hunger (Paperback)

~ John Fante (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fante, who died in 1983, is receiving some belated recognition for novels like Ask the Dust and Wait Until Spring, Bandini. His biographer, Stephen Cooper, has unearthed 18 previously uncollected stories that Fante wrote over 27 years, ranging from derivative and self-indulgent juvenilia to intelligent and meaningful tales of the immigrant experience. "Prologue to Ask the Dust" is essentially a pr cis of the novel, displaying a savage energy and sense of immediacy. This and several other stories bring the Los Angeles of some 60 years ago to life. In the memorable "Mary Osaka, I Love You," Filipino dishwasher Mingo Mateo falls in love with the daughter of his Japanese employer. Mingo's friends are violently opposed to the union, but Mingo and Mary argue that politics and race should not interfere with love. They elope to Las Vegas and marry on December 7, 1941. "Bus Ride" is another, tenser tale of interracial attraction, this time between a Filipino man and a European-American woman. Fante himself was Italian and there are several stories about Italian immigrants. A family in "The Bad Woman" unite to keep a son and brother from making what they believe is a bad marriage. "The Sins of the Mother" tells of a formidable matriarch who is determined that her beautiful daughter not marry a truck driver. Like many of the stories in the volume, this one echoes with understated passion, though the prose is calm and the dialogue polite. The collection is uneven, but weaker pieces are outweighed by those that show Fante's heartbreaking and precise vision in top form.

Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

Published here for the first time, this text presents a collection of recently-discovered stories by John Fante.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (May 31, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574231200
• ISBN-13: 978-1574231205
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #468,802 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Big Hunger fills your plate, July 11, 2000

By	perry justin (texas) - See all my reviews

Thank you Mrs. Fante for saving this piece and countless others of John Fante's work. It is so great to read Bandini after not having anything "new" for years. I have read the book twice in the 45 days I've had it. Bandini lives on! Bukowski said it best, "You should all read John Fante. That was one tough son-of-a-bitch!"

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fante - The Writer's Writer, June 13, 2002

By	Jim Jenkins (San Francisco, Ca. United States) - See all my reviews

Until you've read "Jakie's Mother", a short story in the pages of The Big Hunger, you haven't experienced truth in our artform.

The stories of The Big Hunger are many and varied and show a number of different writing styles. This is a great book and one worth keeping.

12 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fresh fante feeder for a fan, May 4, 2000

By	mel bowers (NASHVILLE TENNESSEE) - See all my reviews

"being a writer I only live in the past and in thefuture"....arturo bandini says from THE BIG HUNGER....john fanteis alive again in my back room...he's been dead for years I know...but he is in my house now standing up shouting at me....he made me laugh and snicker first...then we got more drunk and he started in on a few stories that made me cry...john fante my old pal of stories is back...and we aren't finished yet reading them all...about half way...but I wanted somebody to know that he is with me now...THE BIG HUNGER a collection of short stories collected by Stephen Cooper...from the goldmine...