Reviews

The Brotherhood of the Grape by John Fante

frank_l's review against another edition

dark emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

tommooney's review against another edition

3.0

Being the wife of an old drunk Italian in the 70s must have been fucking hard work.

andrew61's review against another edition

3.0

A story about how a 50 something year old man deals with his elderly parents. Henry Molise is an author living hundreds of miles from his family who live in a small Cailfornian town, He receives a phone call from his brother saying that his parents are getting divorced, they are in their 70's and been married for 50 plus years.In a comic opening chapter his parents are described as being locked out of the local police station following which Henry agrees to return. The book then describes his relationship with his traditional Italian parents with much alcohol, food and battling. Not a bad read with a good depiction of a man coming to terms with his parents decline and some humour although a very odd sexual encounter towards the end which didn't seem to me to be explainable.
Overall ok.

ajnaddaff96's review against another edition

4.0

Hilarious, Fante transports us into a family drama through the lens of an observant writer. All characters are flawed and remind us of ourselves or people we intimately know. The pages danced with evocative similises and metaphors that were original and hilarious.

danielsell's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

kingkong's review against another edition

3.0

Dads, am I right

kiwi_fruit's review against another edition

2.0

The beginning felt like watching an episode of “Everybody Loves Raymond”, but soon you realise that the family relationships are dysfunctional (there are similarities between Nick and Giacinto in Scola’s “Brutti, sporchi e cattivi” movie which was released a year before the book).
The writing is fine but I ended up disliking all the characters.

Spoiler

I got tired of all the drama, the drinking, the sex and the plain bad taste.

I forced myself to finish the book as it was part of a reading challenge. Looks like Fante is not for me. 1.5 stars.

josegarciadobarganes's review against another edition

5.0

What a great work! It is all about life and death and those who, unlike us, decide to live it differently. A life where pleasure, character and strength are what builds us. We call them the Brotherhood of the Grape and we are lucky enough to be close to one of them.

carola's review against another edition

4.0

Ik hou van John Fante. Of van zijn boeken, in ieder geval. Dit boek voelt een beetje als thuiskomen, al is dat gelukkig niet omdat ik mezelf of mijn familie herken in zijn verhalen. De boeken die ik van hem heb gelezen, hebben veel overeenkomsten: het gaat over schrijvers, Italiaanse families in Amerika, alcohol, de personages en gebeurtenissen kunnen ruw zijn, en ze hebben allemaal een heerlijke subtiele humor. Hoewel dit boek in het midden wat inzakte en ietwat te dwaas werd, heb ik weer genoten!

"Tot Mario's afgrijzen weigerde die ouwe zich bij zijn aanhouding neer te leggen en hield hij stand op de veranda, gewapend met een spade. Er verzamelde zich algauw een kleine menigte van buren, en mijn vader en de hoofdagent glipten het huis in en gingen aan de keukentafel zitten, waar ze wijn dronken en de situatie bespraken terwijl mama vanuit de slaapkamer deerniswekkend weende."

davide's review

dark emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0