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| Plot Summary of Ask the Dust |
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"In this Fante's second novel his creation Arturo Bandini is living in a seedy LA hotel as a struggling writer. He arrives at the hotel as a proud published writer having had a short story published in a magazine. He scrapes by eating oranges and living from the promises that his next advance cheque is on the way. He falls for a waitress Camilla Lopez in a local bar. Theirs is a relationship of alternating despise and love. Unfortunately disturbed Camilla is in love with a dying waiter who himself ill treats Camilla and is trying unsuccessfully to write. Bandini the bum eventually achieves literary success but his relationship with Camilla is doomed.
Bandini at times tough is also poignantly tender and this beautifully rendered tale was an inspiration to Charles Bukowski, Fante was his god.
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John Marcel, Resident Scholar
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"Struggling writer, Arturo Bandini, fights to scrape by, living in the Bunker Hill area of 1930's Los Angeles, as he is distracted from his work by his infatuation with Camilla Lopez, a local waitress who flirts with him by insulting him, uninterested in him treating her like a "Mexican princess". "
Michelle Yusuf, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Ask the Dust |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- humorous
Time/era of story
- 1930's-1950's
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Poverty, surviving
Yes
Kind of living:
- general poverty story
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Lover is
- totally uninterested
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- writer
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric/Mental
Yes
Eccentric:
- eccentric
- obsessed
- deluded
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Italian
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric/Smart/Dumb:
Yes
Eccentric:
- obsessed
- deluded
- wild
- mentally ill
- emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
- throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- very athletic
- physically sick
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 8 ()
United States
Yes
The US:
- West
- California
City?
Yes
City:
- Los Angeles
Misc setting
- resort/hotel
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
- touching of anatomy
- actual description of hetero sex
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
John Fante Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Michelle Yusuf
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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