Boxing Day Sale is live! Up to 20% off 2000+ Books

The Bandini Quartet

Wait Until Spring, Bandini: The Road to Los Angeles: Ask the Dust: Dreams from Bunker Hill
4.32 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 828 ratings, 56 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Bandini Quartet is a collection of novels following the life of Arturo Bandini, a struggling Italian-American writer seeking success and identity in Depression-era California. The series captures his journey through ambition, love, and disillusionment as he navigates the challenges of family, poverty, and personal growth. With vivid prose and an evocative depiction of the times, it offers a poignant exploration of the American dream.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock

Sorry, we're currently out of stock of The Bandini Quartet. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're drawn to stories that explore the struggles, dreams, and romantic ambitions of an aspiring writer in Depression-era America. The vivid characters and raw emotional honesty offer a compelling blend of humour and grit, making for an engaging and thought-provoking read.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

The Bandini Quartet

Possessing a style of deceptive simplicity, emotional immediacy and tremendous psychological point, among the novels, short stories and screenplays that complete his career, Fante's crowning accomplishment is the Arturo Bandini tetralogy.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

This quartet of novels tells of Fante's fictional alter-ego Bandini, an impoverished young Italian-American escaping his suffocating home in Colorado for Depression-era Los Angeles.

In the beginning, it is the triple weights of poverty, father, and Church that Bandini struggles under. However, though the physical escape is complete, the psychological imprint continues as he comes to terms with love, desire, and the knowledge that his talent may not be recognised.

The Bandini Quartet offers a compelling exploration of the immigrant experience, personal ambition, and the often harsh realities of artistic pursuit.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Bandini Quartet by John Fante is celebrated for its powerful and raw portrayal of life, capturing both pain and comedy with simplicity. Critics praise the author for his unique style, avoiding the refinement of his contemporaries and instead offering an intense, atmospheric narrative. The character Bandini is a standout creation, and the rediscovery of Fante's work is highly regarded.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781841954974

Publisher: Canongate Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 21 June 2004

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Canongate Books

Edition: Main

Contributors:

  • Introduction by Dan Fante
  • Introduction by Charles Bukowski
  • Introduction by Dan Fante
  • Introduction by Charles Bukowski

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 42.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 551g

Pages: 768

About the Author

Born in Denver on 8 April 1909, John Fante migrated to Los Angeles in his early twenties. Classically out of place in a town built on celluloid dreams, Fante's literary fiction was full of torn grace and redemptive vengeance. Wait Until Spring, Bandini (1938), his first novel, began the saga of Arturo Bandini, a character whose story continues in The Road to Los Angeles, Ask the Dust and Dreams from Bunker Hill - collectively known as The Bandini Quartet. Fante published several other novels, as well as stories, novellas and screenplays in his seventy-four years, including The Brotherhood of the Grape (1977) and 1933 Was A Bad Year (posthumously, 1985). He was posthumously recognised in 1987 with a Lifetime Achievement Award by PEN in Los Angeles, four years after his death from diabetes-related complications.

Also by John Fante

View all

More from General Fiction

View all

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 80,000 books and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.