The Road to Los Angeles: John Fante and the scene of writing

Abstract

Written in the first person, The Road to Los Angeles is a posthumous novel in which John Fante addresses the topos of literary vocation for the first time through Arturo Bandini, the hero of the saga. The novel's salient aspect concerns 17-year-old Arturo who, completely captivated by his heterogeneous readings, feels an irresistible desire to become like his favourite writers. Thus, he continually envisages the scene of writing that will lead to his literary glory. This overwhelming compulsion to write induces in him a deep-set attitude of rebellion against his Catholic family and society at large. Along with his literary ambition, Bandini is obsessed by an eroticism that stimulates the most perverted fantasies in him. This article argues that Arturo's combined worship of literature and women's bodies defines a hazy territory whose effects are paralysing for his juvenile, albeit authentic, talent. Tellingly, his first attempt to write a novel culminates in an absolute failure which makes him understand that the scene of writing in which he illusorily imagines himself has no real connection with the practical organization of day-to-day life required by creative writing. Hence his abrupt decision to leave behind his family, his work at the cannery and everything else and to move to Los Angeles.