John Fante Summary

In 1980 Black Sparrow Press reissued John Fante's long-out-of-print 1939 novel, Ask the Dust, initiating a process that would lead in the next eleven years to the reissue of nearly all Fante's work. O... Read more

In the following positive review, Barry praises Fante's portrayal of childhood and family life in Dago Red. There was a great deal of pleasure and excitement in meeting the Bandini family wh... Read more

In the following review, Gardaphe praises Fante's portrayal of the Italian-American experience in his fiction and assesses his literary accomplishments. If the Italian immigrant experience h... Read more

In the following essay, Collins addresses the reasons for the recent critical and popular rediscovery of John Fante's work, investigates the influence his work has had on other writers, and pla... Read more

In the following review, Kirsch maintains that The John Fante Reader provides a useful introduction to the works of John Fante. John Fante is one of those tragic figures of arts and letters whose b... Read more

In the following unfavorable review, Sylvester derides the stories comprising Dago Red as dull and inconsequential. Mr. Fante has been likened to an Italian Saroyan, and the disservice of the compa... Read more

In the following review, Crotta offers a mixed assessment of the two novellas comprising West of Rome. John Fante's screenplays (Jeanne Eagels, Walk on the Wild Side) may have garnered him m... Read more

In the following essay, Collins investigates the role of baseball in Fante's novels and short fiction. One of John Fante's early claims to fame was being portrayed as the pinball mani... Read more

In the following essay, Buonomo asserts that Fante successfully challenges traditional masculine and feminine models in “A Wife for Dino Rossi.” John Fante's “A Wife for... Read more