bxlbooks91's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful, rich novel. Amazing main characters, beautiful language and a great melancholy atmosphere. Preferred Fante's writing style over Bukowski's.
4*
4*
alexsiddall's review against another edition
4.0
Extraordinary for its time. Fades away rather towards the end, but it really looks clearly at human weakness: how we are conflicted, venal, inconsistent, loving, vicious, self-pitying, and magnanimous all at once. A good read, and a landmark 20th century American novel.
christinejschmidt's review against another edition
3.0
Beautiful description for days. I love Arturo Bandini, but he outshines all the other characters.
iammandyellen's review against another edition
3.0
it might be called "The Writer In Love with his Struggle" or "Love and Revulsion," tho it would probably amount to the same thing. Fante has a sincerity Bukowski lacks, and his bravado is truly pathetic where Bukowski's is cheap. i can see that Bukowski took all the wrong things from Fante: destitution without charity, self-absorption without extension, cruelty without repentance, degradation without humor, mania without revelation, etc. in the story bandini has the spirituality of a creator. he constructs his world around him as a writer, he invents it, makes characters of his neighbors. dust is his material.
favorite line:
"So have your champagne, because I love you both, and you, too Vivian, even if your mouth looks like it had been dug out with raw fingernails and your old child's eyes swim in blood written like mad sonnets."
(77, Ch 10, final paragraph)
favorite line:
"So have your champagne, because I love you both, and you, too Vivian, even if your mouth looks like it had been dug out with raw fingernails and your old child's eyes swim in blood written like mad sonnets."
(77, Ch 10, final paragraph)
chaarloutre's review against another edition
2.0
J’avais ce livre dans ma PAL depuis des années, probablement depuis l’époque où j’étais attirée par la littérature masculine américaine du XXeme siècle. Depuis, j'ai découvert que je n’aimais pas ça, et j’ai donc commencé ma lecture en me disant que je n’irais probablement pas au bout. Finalement, c’est peut-être parce que le roman se parcoure facilement que je n’ai pas abandonné. J’y vois bien les qualités littéraires caractéristiques de son genre, mais pour moi ce sont aussi ces qualités qui sont les défauts de ce type de romans. J’y ai d’ailleurs retrouvé les mêmes choses que dans mes précédentes lectures du genre. L’écriture est incisive, directe, presque agressive. Si elle nous confronte brutalement au récit, elle n’est en revanche pas du tout agréable à lire. Côté propos, on est une fois de plus sur un artiste maudit, raté, plus pathétique que poétique, qui survit dans des conditions miteuses en s’intéressant plus aux femmes qu’à son travail. Ici, il faut encore ajouter une bonne couche de sexisme et de racisme. Bref, pour la féministe que je suis, c’est un non-sens de continuer à lire les productions de ces prétendus grands auteurs, et maintenant que j’ai terminé cet ouvrage, je ne pense pas revenir un jour à ce genre littéraire. En revanche, je me rends compte que je n’ai aucune idée de ce qu’écrivaient les femmes aux États-Unis à la même époque, et je suis curieuse de découvrir ça.
wieteke's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jufarias's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
sashagriffiths's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
saraoftheisland's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
funny at some point, depressing otherwise
counterfeitchocolatecoin's review against another edition
5.0
Ask the Dust (1939) is written from the first person perspective of Arturo Bandini, now 20 and a writer living in Los Angeles. I read this because Robert Towne (screenwriter of Chinatown) called it the definitive LA novel. I wouldn’t go that far but it’s excellent. Arturo Bandini is everything Bukowski wishes he was, but Fante has more of a way with words, a better sense of humor, and more soul than I remember encountering in Bukowski. The book can go from funny to heartbreaking within a single passage and, unlike in some of the books it influenced, a lot actually happens over the course of the book, and not without optimism.