Posts Tagged ‘John Fante’

Fante an Honest Review

Saturday, October 22nd, 2011

Like Hubert Selby Jr. before him, Dan Fante refuses to flinch. His writing is characterised by honest storytelling. He doesn’t try to sound like a writer or obstruct the flow of the story in any way. He has no apparent intention of his work being analysed, and seems to be unconcerned with literary worth, doesn’t fill space with unnecessary allusions or metaphors, he’s not the pretentious know-it-all smirking from behind a screen. Dan Fante’s work does not ape anybody, doesn’t try to evoke another era, doesn’t attempt to be surreal, contemporary, post-modern or book club material. While the Booker Prize scratches its PR chin and newspapers ponder the state of publishing, Dan Fante continues to write.

I had the pleasure of reading Fante: A Family’s Legacy of Writing, Drinking and Surviving, Dan Fante’s latest book, while on my train travels. It felt like I was holding a close friend and listening to him speak his secrets into my ear alone, reminded of when I was a boy and was carrying a Jack London novel around with me like priceless treasure to soothe me and give me the support and friendship I needed. I held my copy of Fante tight, proud to be reading it while others around me stared into their laptops, drank their coffees. (more…)

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Honest Publishing Interviews Dan Fante

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

If you’re yet to discover Dan Fante, now is the time to change that. Like his legendary father John, Dan Fante writes about America’s underdogs in hard-hitting prose that is ballsy, truthful, and bullshit-free. He’s the author of four novels – Chump Change, MoochSpitting Off Tall Buildings, and 86’d – and two poetry collections, A Gin Pissing Raw Meat Dual Carburettor V8 Son of a Bitch From Los Angeles and Kissed by a Fat Waitress. We’re big Fante fans here at Honest, so we thought we’d ask the man himself some questions. (more…)

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On Black Sparrow Press

Monday, February 7th, 2011

I have acquired a new addiction. It’s a vice that has swollen my ‘to read’ pile, yet I can’t stop. I am suddenly obsessed with Black Sparrow Press books. While collecting books by author or subject makes sense, this is the first time I have collected by publisher. (more…)

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The Libraries of Freedom

Saturday, September 25th, 2010

Today a colleague of mine told me about the book she’s reading. More surprising than the book itself was the fact that it was a library book. I honestly hadn’t seen one in years.

The library was a place I used to frequent at university, college or school. I used to spend hours trawling through the library catalogue looking for obscure and interesting reads. Or going through CDs and video tapes. It was very relaxing and eye-opening. Almost like freedom and seems a long, long time ago but the plastic cover of this book and the date stamped on the first page brought back something akin to emotion. The good old days. That old scam. (more…)

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