Ask the Dust
1939 • 209 pages

Ratings21

Average rating3.9

15

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.

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Series

Featured Series

4 primary books

#3 in The Saga of Arturo Bandini

The Saga of Arturo Bandini is a 4-book series with 4 primary works first released in 1938 with contributions by John Fante.

#1
Wait Until Spring, Bandini
#2
The Road to Los Angeles
#3
Ask the Dust
#4
Dreams From Bunker Hill

Reviews

Popular Reviews

Reviews with the most likes.

A showcase of stream of consciousness, if only it were a conscious I cared to imbibe.

April 1, 2021

I'm probably an exception but I hate Bandini and his horrible personality and think nothing of his so called genius. If that's the merit of the book, mission accomplished: awful human being. But that's the extent of my opinion of it all.

May 9, 2017