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Ask the Dust Paperback – February 7, 2006

by John Fante (Author)

4.4 1,650 ratings

Book 3 of 4: The Saga of Arturo Bandini

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Ask the Dust is a virtuoso performance by an influential master of the twentieth-century American novel. It is the story of Arturo Bandini, a young writer in 1930s Los Angeles who falls hard for the elusive, mocking, unstable Camilla Lopez, a Mexican waitress. Struggling to survive, he perseveres until, at last, his first novel is published. But the bright light of success is extinguished when Camilla has a nervous breakdown and disappears . . . and Bandini forever rejects the writer’s life he fought so hard to attain.

Book 3 of 4

The Saga of Arturo Bandini
Print length

192 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Ecco
Publication date

February 7, 2006
Dimensions

5.31 x 0.43 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

9780060822552
ISBN-13

978-0060822552
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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

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0060822554
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ecco (February 7, 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780060822552
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0060822552
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.3 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.43 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #43,157 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #435 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction
- #1,631 in Classic Literature & Fiction
- #3,767 in Literary Fiction (Books)

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4.4 1,650 ratings

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ots

Charles Bukowski's favorite writer and very high on my list, too.

Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2023

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'Ask the Dust' is perhaps my favorite of John Fante's wonderful novels. But then, is there room for more than one 'favorite?' How about 'Brotherhood of the Grape?' or 'The Big Hunger?' and a half dozen or so others...

I first read John Fante's books after seeing Charles Bukowski on video claiming Fante as his favorite writer. Bukowski said Fante 'writes like God.' Bukowski himself wasn't bad so I had to see what the fuss was all about with John Fante. Yes, I decided Fante does write like God. Pure genius story telling in the clearest prose you'll ever find. It manages to be conversational and literary both all at once. I suppose that's how God would do it.

But seriously, Fante is worth reading and actually rereading, too. It is very good stuff. I have nearly all his books and couldn't give them up. They are pretty nearly perfect.

2 people found this helpful

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A Dark Gritty Coming of Age Novel, Set in Los Angeles in The 1930s

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2021

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“Ask The Dust” is a tough gritty coming of age novel set in Los Angeles in the 1930s. It is the third novel, and second published novel authored by John Fante. The protagonist is a young Italian American Arturo Bandini, described as John Fante’s alter ego. The novel is of medium length and is mostly highly readable. There are some very picturesque passages that border on the poetic that I read slowly and often reread to allow the words to sink in. Other passages I found pedestrian, depressing, and frustrating.

If asked to compare this author to another I would compare him to Charles Bukowski, particularly “Ham on Rye”. Charles Bukowski openly admired John Fante. While not completely enthralled with either author I find John Fante somewhat more artistic.

This novel has a Noir aspect to it. It is about individuals at the lower end of the socioeconomic side of the population. Many of the characters seem to lead sad lives of quiet desperation. While I enjoy these Noir type novels from time to time, I find them depressing and need to take a break from them.

As stated above, this is the third completed novel of John Fante. Each novel is a standalone novel. Each novel involves Arturo Bandini as a young aspiring author. I found each novel more interesting than enjoyable. Although not really enthralled with any of them, I suppose my favorite is “Wait Until Spring Bandini”, which is set in Colorado earlier in Bandini’s life.

The third novel, first composed, but not published until later is “The Road to Los Angeles”. It is also dark and gritty. As a trilogy it is somewhat inconsistent with the other two novels and was my least favorite. I felt the writing was less mature which is understandable as it is a first effort. If I was going to skip one of these three novels, this would be the one.

In summary I am glad to have read this novel. It is a good novel, but dark. There are passages that are quite artistic. There are passages that are crude. It can be read as a standalone novel but is somewhat related to other novels with the same protagonist. Thank you for taking the time to read this review.

32 people found this helpful

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Antonia

Gritty Realism and Haunting Lyricism

Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2007

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A poor, aspiring young writer moves into a decaying, once-genteel roomimg house in the Bunker Hill section of Los Angeles. Periodically on the verge of starvation, he nevertheless enjoys the warm climate of the city set next to a desert, works on his writing and looks at the stars. The stars tell him not to despair - that he's part of something vibrant and glorious. One fateful day he happens to go into a Mexican restaurant. In a letter to his cousin Fante described what happened as a result of that casual decision. He fell in love with a girl "who loved someone else, who in turn despised her. Strange story of a beautiful Mexican girl who somehow didn't fit into modern life...."
The protagonist, Arturo Bandini, becomes obsessed with Camilla; and as he does so he goes through various stages of love: from shallow attraction to infatuation to compassionate love. At the beginning of the book he's completely self-centered. By the end of the book his love for the girl is almost wholly unselfish. This is especially moving, since he realizes after awhile that he means nothing to her and that she's just been using him all along to try to get close to another man. This bitter realization doesn't prevent him from moving heaven and earth to try to save her, even after she has a nervous breakdown. Mental illness had a much greater stigma in the 1930s than it does now. I think it's safe to say that most young men of that era would have siimply given up and walked away. Instead, Bandini is prepared to devote his life to her.
As many reviewers have pointed out, "Ask the Dust" is a great Los Angeles book. In fact, the city itself - its streets, bars, cafes, boardinghouses, parks and skid row - is a major character in the book. The era the book describes is the 1930s, but as someone who lived near there thirty years later, I can attest to the timelessness of the feeling of the city. It's a strange mixture of gritty reality and poignant dreaminess. Fante captures this feeling perfectly.
"Ask the Dust" also has one of the most lyrical, and haunting - and saddest - endings ever written.
Some reviewers have been put off by the name-calling and ethnic epithets. Of course, Bandini would have been a more admirable character without them. But the writer's first duty is to tell the truth, even when it presents him in an unflattering light. And it's not what the book is about, any more than "Vanity Fair" is solely about Becky Sharp, Thackeray's great anti-heroine.
"Ask the Dust," like "Vanity Fair" and "Of Human Bondage,"examines a basic problem of human existence: why do we love the people who don't love us? Put another way, why can't we love the people who do love us?
And a larger question: why are some people doomed?
A door opens, so that they can escape from the hell they're in. They can't go through it.
Why?
Ask the dust.

17 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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javier

Insufrible

Reviewed in Spain on October 18, 2023

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Asombrado de que fuera la inspiración de Bukowski

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Ismaël Ström

The best book about Los Angeles

Reviewed in France on April 27, 2023

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The best book about Los Angeles and all.

stefano

.

Reviewed in Italy on September 4, 2022

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Lo sto leggendo

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sampath

Brilliant. Original

Reviewed in India on December 29, 2020

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The best book I have read in s long, long while. Amazingly original and fresh. Love story told with passion and honesty. Delves deep into the human psyche.

Kristopher Cook

An American Contemporary with All The Charm of a Day at The Races

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 21, 2017

Verified Purchase

Having read John Fante's 'Ask The Dust' I can now see why it is heralded as an American Contemporary Classic.

This book is both surprisingly witty and at times downright depressing with the main character, Arturo Bandini (to be pronounced in the voice of Bukowski in the preface) set on his dream of becoming 'the greatest writer the world has ever seen'.

Along the way he meets many characters, non more dynamic than waitress Camilla, who is working in the local coffee shop. They form a relationship of special sorts and thus begins Arturo's true journey.

I would highly recommend this book to anybody who has previously enjoyed; Charles Bukowski, Louis-Ferdinand Céline or even Kurt Vonnegut.

One person found this helpful

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