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Ask the dust

John Fante

1980165 pagesabout 3–4 hours
1980
first published
  • 1980Black Sparrow Press · 165 pages · ENGISBN 9780876854440
  • 1980Black Sparrow Press · 165 pages · ENG
  • 2000Canongate Books · 208 pages · ENGISBN 9780862419875
  • 2008Canongate Books · ENGISBN 9781847673657
  • 2010HarperCollins · ENGISBN 9780062013002
  • 2018Canongate Books · 208 pages · ENGISBN 9781786896209
  • 1999Canongate Crime · 208 pages · ENGISBN 9780862418397
  • 2002Canongate Books Ltd · 208 pagesISBN 9781841953304

Arturo Bandini is a struggling writer lodging in a seedy LA hotel. While basking in the glory of having had a single short story published in a small magazine, he meets local waitress Camilla Lopez and they embark on a strange and strained love-hate relationship/ Slowly, but inexorably, it descends into the realms 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 hear, it remains as fresh and affecting as the day it was written.

How it reads

Character focusSingle lead

Worth knowing

Romance levelSubplot

When and where

ThemesLove

Content notesnot yet assessed

Quotesnone available

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