Ask the Dust by John Fante

This book was published in 1939. John Fante was an Italian-American writer during the 30s and 40s, and I think he ran with Hemingway. He mostly wrote about life in Los Angeles, and this book is about a 20-year-old man arriving in LA from Denver, and developing as a writer. It’s an autobiographical piece with Arturo Bandini as the main character. He lives in a cheap hotel on Bunker Hill, which is in the middle of downtown, and has his first encounters with Mexicans and marijuana (another variant of M&Ms besides the candy and Mantle and Maris). I did not come upon this book by accident. My brother-in-law, Stephen Cooper, who is a literature professor at Long Beach State, has written extensively about Fante. Steve has really made this one of his life’s works, to resurrect this author who was all but forgotten. In becoming Fante’s biographer, he contacted the widow who lived in Malibu. He interviewed his children and friends. He acquired all of Fante’s library and notes, and that is now being displayed at UCLA. Steve has gotten international fame as the result, and the Fante resurrection has really taken off in Europe, especially Italy and Scandinavia. Steve has made a couple trips there for book fairs and speaking engagements. A couple months ago, the mayor of LA had a dedication of an intersection in the Bunker Hill area, and signs of “John Fante Square” are now prominent there, all because of Steve’s efforts. If you’re interested in Los Angeles and the era, this is a very good read. The dialogue is fantastic.