Claim: John Fante is a novelist.

John Fante -LRB- April 8 , 1909 -- May 8 , 1983 -RRB- was an Italian-American novelist , short story writer and screenwriter . He is best known for his semi-autobiographical novel Ask the Dust -LRB- 1939 -RRB- about the life of a struggling writer , Arturo Bandini , in Depression-era Los Angeles . It is widely considered the great Los Angeles novel and is one in a series of four novels , published between 1938 and 1985 , that are now collectively called `` The Bandini Quartet '' . A movie of the same name was made in 2006 , starring Colin Farrell . Fante published five novels , one novella , and a short story collection . Additional works , including two novels , two novellas , and two short story collections , were published posthumously . His screen credits include , most notably , Full of Life -LRB- 1956 -RRB- , based on his 1952 novel by that name , Jeanne Eagels -LRB- 1957 -RRB- , and the 1962 films Walk on the Wild Side and The Reluctant Saint .