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The Saga of Arturo Bandini #3

Ask the Dust

Name: Ask the Dust
Rating: 4.1 (39148 reviews)
Author: John Fante

John Fante January 1, 1939

4.1 39.1k Ratings

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Synopsis

“Fante was my god.” —Charles Bukowski, in his introduction to Ask the Dust

Arturo Bandini, a young, struggling Italian-American writer living in a seedy hotel in 1930s Los Angeles, falls hard for the elusive, mocking, unstable Camilla Lopez, a Mexican waitress. The pair embark on a strange and strained love-hate relationship, which slowly, but inexorably, descends into the realm of madness.

Ask the Dust is one of the truly great, yet unsung, American novels of the twentieth century. A tough and unsentimental story with a soft and tender heart, it remains as fresh and affecting as the day it was written.

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