Bukowski wrote that as a young writer Fante was his hero. I just ordered his novel Ask The Dust. The novel is the third of what I understand to be a loose series of four. If anyone has read Fante would you recommend reading the books in order? What did you think of his writing?
Her hair was like a flowing cascade and her breasts were real awesome also.
My ***** Better Have My Money by Fly Guy
My ***** better have my money.
Through rain, sleet, or snow,
my ho better have my money.
Not half, not some, but all my cash.
Because if she don't, I'll put my foot dead in her ***.
Once upon taking off a wetsuit I found a live sandcrab had been trapped in one of its legs. I next went to the library and, like the OP I decided to try some John Fante at Bukowski's reccommendation, I chose a story in which live crabs got into the narrator's pants as he slept under a bridge! True story! I am not kidding!
Fante is as boring as a lukewarm fart. Hank made a joke and ev'rybody's circling that turd.
Can somebody who loves Celine read Fante ? I thought, this old joke would be burried by now.
Buy the Ticket, take the Ride...
"Ask the Dust" is one of my best friend's favorite books ever. It is like her bible and she has multiple copies that she has all marked up and highlighted. I haven't gotten around to reading it but she regards it with such passion and respect that I will probably be getting around to reading it soon. Anyway, just figured I'd put in my two cents since I virtually never hear anyone else mention Fante.
Man, you nailed it. Whatever the Buk saw in there, he pulled it out and did something a million times better with it.Originally Posted by crusoe
J
....I still have yet to see a reason as to how John Fante is "lukewarm boring." What I'm seeing here in this forum is a bunch of readers that have yet to scratch the surface of Fante's work. Pity, really. If you're going to be a snob about an author's work, please do it with a proper explanation as to why you dislike Fante.
Basically I've found another bunch of readers that favour Bukowski over Fante. Good for you! However, at the end of the day Bukowski worshiped Fante for a reason.
My suggestion to the OP is to give Ask the Dust a chance. It's an excellent story of how twenty is the age of reason. I would give it a legitimate chance. These insults about a wonderful author astound me and are completely unfounded and childish... They haven't even given you a single reason as to why Fante isn't worth a read. Ask the Dust is a short read so even if you despise the novel it won't be a grueling read that will drag on for page after page.
Give him a chance, he's worth it.
I agree with summersfade.
Honestly, I enjoyed Ask the Dust far more than any of Bukowski's novels.
Amen, brother. I'm so happy to see someone give respect to Fante. He is deserving of it. He was a wonderful addition to American lit and he continues to be an enormous inspiration to me.
Ok, what do we have here: 2 Readers of Fante, 1 who knows somebody who claims to have read him and 1 who maybe will get a Book by him...so he sold -at least- 3 copies.
I don't think, Hank Chinaski payed for his...
Buy the Ticket, take the Ride...
What's it matter how many books he sold?
2 sold Copies = upcoming Talent
3 sold Copies = Bestseller
4 sold Copies = immortal
Didn't you know ?
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This man must be JOKING! A great author is not measured in how many BOOKS HE'S SOLD. A great author does not got out of his way to please the masses. He writes for himself. Candidly.
Are you woefully unaware that Bukowski himself worshiped Fante and was inspired by him? Oh, that's right. You believe him to be making a mockery of Fante. Clearly you haven't read the letters they exchanged to one another to see how smitten Bukowski was with Fante.
Honestly, I feel like you're just pranking this forum with your outlandish commentary. Fante was a great author and if all you want to do is spend your time degrading him, I feel like you're doing your holy Hank no favours whatsoever.
And for your information, to add a fourth copy to this list, I know someone that respects Ask the Dust just as much as I do. He is the Fante to MY Bukowski. I respect him, his knowledge, and the shared interests we have discussed. Ask the Dust is one of the novels that brought us closer together, and we were able to discuss love, life, and the philosophy of reason behind it.
That, my friend, is a great book. A stupendous book. If a book can bring two people together like that... How is it not immortal?
Well...?
Buy the Ticket, take the Ride...
I just finished Ask The Dust and I thought it was very good. Wonderfully poetic. I felt something though was missing. Something very slight but something.
Her hair was like a flowing cascade and her breasts were real awesome also.
My ***** Better Have My Money by Fly Guy
My ***** better have my money.
Through rain, sleet, or snow,
my ho better have my money.
Not half, not some, but all my cash.
Because if she don't, I'll put my foot dead in her ***.
Ditto.
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