Ask the Dust

This book by John Fante came up once on Joe Rogan in the episodes we index. That mention was a genuine on-air recommendation, not just a passing reference. The people who brought it up: Felipe Esparza. Every occurrence below links to the episode page and to the exact second it was said on YouTube.

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.