Book Read

Ask the Dust by John Fante

Tommy pressed this book into my hand one day, telling me that I needed to read it. The Kansas City Public Library does not have this book at the library, which made me a little nervous that a public library--with all of its thousands of pieces of literature--didn't have any of this author's work. (Although I do stand corrected: they do have some of Fante's novels at the library, just not this one.) Tom has been on a kick of reading work by John Fante and Charles Bukowski, but he told me that he didn't quite think I was ready for Bukowski's novels of drugs, alcoholism, sex, and womanizing. (Which is sooo not true -- I am ready for the womanizing, baby!)

Maybe I just have Catcher in the Rye on my mind, but there are some similarities between Holden Cauldfield and Arturo Bandini. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy that the last few books I have read involved prostitutes and alcoholics and bullies...oh my!