Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Book details, 16 Jul 2004
This excellent edition gathers together four of John Fante's best books. They all feature his fantastic alter-ego, Arturo Bandini. The books are, in order:- 'Wait Until Spring, Bandini' (Arturo aged about 14, living in Colorado with his devoted Catholic mother and wandering father, dreaming of becoming a great baseball player. Shades of 'Catcher in the Rye').
- 'The Road to Los Angeles' (Arturo aged about 18, living with his mother and sister, dreaming of becoming a writer and working at degrading menial jobs).
- 'Ask The Dust' (Arturo aged about 20, living on his own and struggling to become a writer. This is Fante's most famous, successful book).
- 'Dreams from Bunker Hill' (Bandini living in Los Angeles and working on the movies in Hollywood. Fante actually wrote this just before he died). The whole thing is well packaged, and it includes an excellent introduction by Fante's son, Dan, who is also a very good writer. I can't recommend this enough. I have all the individual books anyway, but now I have this I can lend my old books to friends and spread the word.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very, very timely and welcome!, 28 Jun 2004
The title of this collection is appropriate. Fante's Bandini books, which depict the struggle through life of an impulsive, emotional young Italian-American, show off his talent as a writer more than any of his other work. The musical analogy shows how, at its best, Fante's writing flows like beautiful music, depicting intense emotions with a relentless honesty and lyricism. This collection is very welcome because it gathers together four of Fante's best novels at an affordable price. It's important to remember that the books weren't written in sequence, and readers looking for a conventional, continuous epic may be disappointed. The literary style of the books seems to vary slightly, as they were written at very different periods in the author's life. That said, it's a great idea to gather together the books in this way, and I hope it will serve to give more exposure to the funny, moving and infuriating words and deeds of this classic literary character. The publisher's analogy is fitting - these books really do form a quartet, just as different musical instruments come together to create a beautiful musical story.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bokowski was right, the man is a god, 12 April 2006
In a world dominated by J.K Rowlings, and Catherine Cooksons, it has become apparent the mainstream writers are having a little trouble with honesty. For Fante, however, it was his forte.
This book is 'beautifully' written, and each sentence flows from one to the other in a way that can be alikened to that of coupland. The topics are often hard hitting, but Fante tackles them with the dark wit that both him and Bukowski possess.
If you've read Bukowski, and are struggling to find something that imprints itself on the mind as perfectly, by Fante.
Both Bukowski and Fante have a talent that should not be missed; they could describe a day of absolute nothingness and it would appear as the most infactuating day the world has ever offered.
This is a novel (4 novels) that you should own.
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