false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173242372m/263914.jpg 263914 5 Unfamiliar with the works of John Fante? Sadly, you're not alone. While his few novels received critical acclaim, they went out of print quickly, and for most of his career Fante relied on Hollywood screenwriting to support both his family and his habits. Stephen Cooper has done a terrific job of uncovering Fante's life here, and more than anything, his biography makes the reader want to turn back to the writer's books (<I>Ask the Dust</I>, <I>Wait Until Spring, Bandini</I>, <I>The Road to Los Angeles</I>, <I>The Brotherhood of the Grape</I>, among others--all currently in print, courtesy of Black Sparrow Press). With elegant prose and painstaking detail, Cooper reveals a tortured man who once ended a letter with this telling statement: "Writing is a great joy, but the profession of writing is horrible." Beginning with Fante's family history--immigration, menial labor, heavy drinking, and financial instability--and ending with a final 17-month hospitalization, the roller coaster that was his life is both fascinating and exhausting. Even while his screenplay <I>Full of Life</I> achieved critical accolades, Fante referred to himself as "that Hollywood whore, that stinking sell-out artist," and with every increase in his paycheck he seemed to fall further into bitterness. Throughout the pages that link Fante's professional and personal lives, we're shown a proud grandpa, an unrepentant gambler and heavy-drinking diabetic, and above all, a tremendously talented writer who was always his own worst critic. Would he appreciate being rescued from obscurity? Hard to say: as he wrote to his son in the early '60s, "Success is too vague a challenge. Maybe failure is even better; certainly it is more beautiful." <I>--Jill Lightner</I> 1332798 1991 Full of Life: A Biography of John Fante total:30|5:10|4:11|3:9|2:0|1:0| 30 121 46 1 3 0 false false Fri Mar 09 11:38:39 -0800 2007 Wed Apr 25 08:49:00 -0700 2007 0 0 false false Tue Nov 17 07:24:05 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 17 07:24:05 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Fri Nov 06 07:07:22 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 06 07:07:22 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Oct 16 05:58:17 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 16 05:58:17 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Oct 17 10:58:38 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 07 09:47:16 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 07 09:47:16 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat Sep 26 22:22:15 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 26 22:22:15 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue Jul 21 16:05:16 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 21 16:05:16 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Jul 19 11:08:26 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 19 11:08:26 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon May 11 14:16:07 -0700 2009 Mon May 11 14:16:07 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Apr 14 05:01:12 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 05:01:12 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat Mar 28 01:45:01 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 28 01:45:01 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue Mar 24 15:31:28 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 15:31:28 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Feb 24 12:25:32 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 24 12:25:32 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sat Feb 14 21:12:32 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 14 21:12:32 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Jan 10 15:24:31 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 15:24:31 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Wed Nov 26 22:48:19 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 26 22:48:19 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Fri Oct 24 12:55:25 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 24 12:55:25 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Thu Oct 16 23:41:52 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 16 23:41:52 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Sun Sep 07 20:03:13 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 07 20:03:13 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Fri Sep 05 22:24:05 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 05 22:24:05 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=263914