Ask the dust

One day I pulled out a book and opened it, I paused for a moment to read then carried it and headed to the table as someone who finds gold in the city's landfill. The lines rolled easily across the page flowing sequentially, and each energy was no less than the energy of the other, giving the structure of each line on the page a shape and a feeling of something carved into it. Here finally is a man who did not fear emotions, pain and humor are simply blended, and his opening was a huge and savage miracle for me. I had a library card, I took the book with me, in my room I went up to my bed and read it, I realized long before finishing it that this man has a distinctive way of writing. The name of the book was "Ask the Dust" by "John Fante". Its impact continued in my writings for a lifetime. I finished reading "Ask the Dust" and looked for other books by Fante in the library, I found two: "Dago Red" and "Wait till Spring Comes, Pendeen". They had the same style, written about and from the heart and core. After thirty-nine years, I reread "Ask the Dust", I mean I reread it this year and it still stands firm, like Fante's other works, but this novel is my favorite because it was my first discovery of magic. - Charles Bukowski