As father and son, John and Dan Fante's relationship was characterized by competition, resentment, rages, and extended periods of silence. This title traces Dan Fante's family's history from the hillsides of Italy to the immigrant neighborhoods of Colorado to Los Angeles.

"[Fante] is frank and funny. Dan does not lionize or demonize his father, nor does he indulge in the self pitying or self gratifying aspects of memoir. Its an achievement in tone and delightful to read." -- Carolyn Kellogg, Los Angeles Times "If writing is fighting, then Dan Fante goes fifteen rounds and stays standing. This is a fascinating story about two hard-edged men, survival and the passion to live and to write." -- Michael Connelly "What a story. Riveting, harrowing, and extremely moving. Dan Fante's been to hell and back and taken notes along the way." -- Mary Dearborn Author of The Happiest Man Alive: A Biography of Henry Miller and Mailer: A Biography "This book is a knockout, with all the down-and-out, kick-you-in-the-teeth, unflinching prose of self-taught street writers like Herbert Huncke and Hubert Selby, Jr. Dan Fante is now entrenched on my list of self-sabotaging, self-abusing fuckup writer anti-heroes." -- Neil Strauss, Author of The Game and Everyone Loves You When You're Dead "A brilliant memoir. John and Dan Fante are two sides of the same coin. Both battered but resilient, they're writers who have written with pure honesty and blood and never gave up. It's one of the best memoirs I've read in years." -- Willy Vlautin, author of Lean on Pete and The Motel Life "A vivid cautionary tale of a family's struggles with words, rage and the bottle." -- Kirkus Reviews "[Fante's] anecdotal, spare narrative is full of fine, pointed writing and searing memories" -- Publishers Weekly "The Fantes, father and son, have been a major new discovery for me ... I can't think of the West Coast without them." -- - John Fowles, Author of The French Lieutenant's Woman - John Fowles, Author of The French Lieutenant's Woman John Fowles, author of The French Lieutenant's Woman "With Fante, and his father before him, there are never any false feelings or pretentiousness ... you know he has been where he writes from, and judging by the sound of things, it has been one hell of a wild ride." -- Sacramento Book Review "Dan Fante is an authentic literary outlaw." -- New York Times "If you like your prose vodka-soaked, soulful, and bleeding on the page, then Fante is your man." -- Ben Meyers, 3AM Magazine Ben Meyers, 3AM Magazine Ben Meyers, 3AM Magazine Ben Meyers, 3AM Magazine "Fante offers moments that brush the genius of Bukowski and Hubert Selby, Jr." -- Elle "Readers who don't hang up ... won't be able to stop listening" -- New York Times "Fante's stories are as funny as they are dark, and always deeply human in a world that's often not." -- Ron Shelton, Director (Bull Durham, White Men Can't Jump) "Dan Fante's writing grabs you by the throat and doesn't let you go. It's authentic, gritty, and yet full of a flawed beauty found in the strangest places and the hardest people." -- Ron Shelton, Director (Bull Durham, White Men Can't Jump)