One of the great novels of L.A., a semi-autobiographical story of a struggling writer

One day Arturo Bandini is going to make big as a writer. A great writer. But until then, Los Angeles is as good a place as any for him to survive the hungry times between his editor’s payments. It’s a city where he can turn and grapple with life head-on. A city of women. A city of earthquakes. Desperately wanting to meet a woman, Arturo runs across Camilla Lopez, a waitress in a Spring Street saloon. Passionately, angrily, pointlessly, Arturo starts to fall in and out of love….

My Review

Arturo Bandini fancies himself as America’s next great writer. Living in a hotel on Bunker Hill and dodging the landlady to avoid paying his rent, he tries to find inspiration for his stories in the world around him whilst awaiting his discovery and living off money his mother sends him. One night he finds himself in a saloon where he meets Camilla. They immediately don’t get on when Arturo, trying to be tough, insults her. The next day gives an insight into the interactions they have with each other when Arturo leaves a copy of the only work he has ever published “The Little Dog Laughed’ with a message for Camilla.

Dear Ragged Shoes,

You may not know it, but last night you insulted the author of this story. Can you read it? If so, invest fifteen minutes of your time and treat yourself to a masterpiece. And next time, be careful. Not everyone who comes in here is a bum.

Artuto Bandini

Camilla, unimpressed, waits until Arturo is in the saloon and then tears it to pieces, throwing it in a spitoon

Arturo is not a nice character. In fact, none of the characters are particularly likeable. Arturo seems to act out as someone he really isn’t with a confidence he really lacks. The story moves between Arturo reign drawn to Camilla and pushing her away. Camilla clearly suffers from addiction and mental health issues as a result and rather than help her he seems to standby whilst she gets worse and worse.

The book touches on issues of identity. The beautiful Camilla that Arturo yearns for is Mexican and being set in the Depression era of the 1930’s this causes Arturo to ask questions about his own ethnicity.