My class at San Francisco State finished reading John Fante's Full of Life last week. The students seemed to like it a lot--a better response, really, than the reaction to Ask the Dust, usually regarded as his masterpiece, which I taught a couple of years ago. Full of Life is funny, it's about family (so most people can relate to it), and it's short. I realized, too, that it broke the tension that carried over from Himes's If He Hollers Let Him Go. Could be a keeper.
This week we watched The Endless Summer and took the midterm. While the students worked on the exam, I read ahead in Charles Bukowski's Post Office. I tried not to laugh out loud, but it was tough. The juxtaposition of The Endless Summer and the casually dystopian Post Office could create some interesting effects.
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