Synopses & Reviews
A blackout brought on by a Mad Dog binge that ended with a self-inflicted steak knife wound bought Bruno Dante another stint in the nuthouse, no different from all the rest. Now it's done, and his wife, Agnes—taking time off from her personal-trainer lover—has come to pick Bruno up and to deliver a message from the West Coast: his screenwriter father is in the hospital in a coma and is not expected to live. So Bruno heads back to Los Angeles for a fraught family reunion, where the tension and stress force him to dull the pain the only way he knows how—with alcohol. And when he wakes up naked in a stolen car with an underage hooker whose pimp has stolen his wallet, Bruno realizes the trip has just begun.
Review
“Dont miss Chump Change. It is passionate, obscene, and quite wonderful.” Los Angeles Times
Review
“Not a word comes out that one would correct . . . it is sublime.” Gérard Guégan
Synopsis
In New York, Bruno Dante's life is a train wreck. A call comes from L.A.: his screenwriter father is in a coma and not expected to live. The next three weeks on the streets of Los Angeles will alter Bruno Dante forever. In this novelistic homage to his father (Fante is the son of famed California novelist John Fante), Dan Fante expresses his hero's and his own bewilderment with a rawness, crudeness and shock, which never stifles the tenderness and compassion he has for his characters. Originally published to acclaim in France, this is the first US edition of Fante's debut novel.
Synopsis
When he finds out his father is in a coma, aspiring writer and part-time drunk Bruno Dante, fresh from the nuthouse, must head to Los Angeles for a fraught family reunion in Dan Fantes Chump Change. Now back in print to coincide with the publication of his new novel, 86d, Chump Change follows Bruno through the tension and stress of facing his family—and the inevitable, pain-dulling drinking that lands him naked in a stolen car with an underage hooker whose pimp has stolen his wallet. Chump Change is “an honest misfits view of America far too few know.” (John Fowles, author of The French Lieutenants Woman).
About the Author
The son of novelist John Fante (Ask the Dust), Dan Fante is the author of the novels 86'd, Chump Change, and Mooch; the short story collection, Short Dog; two books of poetry; and the plays The Boiler Room and Don Giovanni. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he lives in Arizona with his wife and son.