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Loading... Ask the Dust (1939)by John Fante
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Very dated. I can see how this was exciting when it came out, and the connection to Chinatown and other noir stories and films, but it just feels a bit boring today ( ) I did not enjoy spending time with Arturo Bandini as a young near-destitute author in depression era Los Angeles. Everything he relates is so filtered through a self with the emotional intelligence of a gnat and only enough residual honesty to know when he is lying. His assumption that how he treats women is what they deserve is particularly distasteful, yet something in the language and the stuttering grasps at connection is compelling. Po, Fante pati efekt të madh mbi mua. Fante ishte hyu im dhe unë e dija se hyjnitë duhen lënë të qetë, nuk mund t’u shkelje pragun ashtu si duke lozur. Prapë më pëlqente të hamendja se ku mund të kishte jetuar në Angel’s Flight dhe s’më dukej e pamundur që të jetonte akoma aty. Ditë për ditë dilja, i bija një xhiro dhe mendoja, a është ajo dritarja që shkapërcente Camilla? A thua kjo është dera e atij hoteli? Ai është holli? Tridhjetë e nëntë vjet më pas e rilexova “Pyesni pluhurin”. Ka libra të tjerë përpos “Dago Red” dhe “Wait until spring, Bandini”. Janë “Full of life” dhe “The brotherhood of Grape”. Biles, tashti Fante ka në dorë një roman tjetër, “A dream of Bunker Hill”. Pas disa peripecish, më në fund e takova shkrimtarin sivjet (1979). Ka shumë gjëra të tjera historia e John Fantes. Është një histori fati dhe fatkeqësish dhe historia e në guximi të rrallë dhe të natyrshëm. Dikur do e tregojnë por ndiej sikur ai nuk do që unë ta tregoj tashti. Por më lejoni se ky njeri siç ka fjalët ka dhe veprat: të forta, të mira dhe të ngrohta. Kaq mjafton. Tani ky libër është i juaji. I need to implement a way to keep up with how books end up on my to-read list, i.e. mentioned in other books I've read, recommended by friends, etc. This was written in 1939 with this edition including a preface/introduction by Charles Bukowski. You can tell right away how much Bukowski was influenced by Fante. As much as I enjoyed Bukowski in my younger days, I now have even less tolerance for misogyny and less empathy for the "pathetic white male protagonist". I do understand the difference of characters created by the author and the views of the authors themselves -this was probably a good depiction of "the times" with the general racism, anti-semitism etc but I could also say that it represents current times as well. In all honesty, I've forgotten where I was going with this review.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the publication of Ask the Dust, by John Fante. Today it's widely regarded as a classic of American literature; many have declared it the finest novel ever to emerge from Los Angeles. In addition to critical praise, the book has also found popular success, appearing on bestseller lists in both the US and Europe. In 2006 it was even made into a Hollywood film, starring Salma Hayek and Colin Farrell. But Fante's masterpiece has not always enjoyed such prominence. In fact, its journey to its current status has been long and highly unusual. Belongs to SeriesBandini (3) Belongs to Publisher SeriesLos 40 de Angrama (11) The Canons (17) Mirmanda (148) Is contained inHas the adaptationIs replied to inNotable Lists
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. No library descriptions found. |
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