a friend tell me of john fante last summer after we get into a conversation about charles bukowski . i do not know that fante be a favorite writer of bukowski an author with similar edge and humor except from one generation earlier . ask the dust be the first fante book i read and and it remain one of my favorite novel . the novel be a brilliant piece of write about a sad and frightened young writer pose to himself and the outside world a an overconfident and masterfully talented author who have no idea how to write about the real world experience he have none of . in the novel the protagonist be a virgin and with no idea how to win the grace of the woman he desperately want to write about in magazine . the story of his bizarre relationship with camilla and how he settle for his first sexual experience with a wounded admirer and and how he eventually be leave with nothing but the story of his failed attempt at love be bite and real and with no touch hollywood end . the film adaptation stay true to the book for a while and but meander into the cinematic trap of love persevere through racism and sickness and death . the heart of this story lie in the fact that bandini be a jerk and camilla be f ing crazy and and their love never be and never would be the real thing and no matter how much either of them want to find it in each other . this movie tear out the real meaning of the story out and replace it with schlock . i can not believe the man who write chinatown could read this book and make a movie about it that get it so wrong .