John Fante is regarded the quintessential novelist of life in Los Angeles. He started writing his semi-autobiographical Arturo Bandini stories in the rough, post-Depression 1930s and remained an obscure writer until poet Charles Bukowski discovered his second Bandini book Ask The Dust in the early 1970s and helped Fante reach fame and recognition among those who love stories about the rougher life at the edge of society. Today, hard-to-find first editions of Ask the Dust sell for up to USD 10,000.