My...
I just flew through Ask The Dust, which arrived in the mail yesterday. Fante really is something, though. I can see why Bukowski felt that charge when he first read it so many years ago. They both have similar styles and like to appreciate the lives of drifters who can occasionally knock out the short story to pay the rent (only $6 in 1939, if you can believe that!). Yet, whereas Bukowski really likes to hit the low points...the bar flies soaking up their contempt for life through their livers in beer mugs and pint glasses and the cheap women that follow them...Fante almost follows a similar path, but his anger/confusion seems rooted in his heritage (well, maybe Bukowski does the same). I guess if anything, Fante's prose doesn't allow for nearly enough hatred of man like Bukowski does. I'll have to find more of his writing tomorrow (today).