West of Rome, by John Fante

John Fante (1909-1983) was an American-Italian novelist and screenwriter who wrote autobiographical fiction about his hardscrabble youth and poverty stricken upbringing. The famous Charles Bukowski was a fan and brought about a revival in the author's works. West of Rome consists of the novella My Dog Stupid and the short story "The Orgy." Both were published posthumously.

My Dog Stupid

Henry Molise and wife Harriet have four adult children that are driving them nuts with their various problems. When a stray dog arrives, it's the last thing that Henry wants. But as his children grow fond of the dog, they reluctantly keep him, calling him "Stupid". 

The 130 novella, presumably set in the 1960s given its cultural references to interracial relationships and draft dodging, basically follows the hopeless twists and turns of this unhappy but reluctantly close family. Henry pines for some imagined idyll in Rome, and talks about going on an extended holiday there, but is continually dragged back into familial bickering and fighting. There seems no escape from miserably domesticity. 

The Orgy

A ten-year-old boy describes working with his bricklayer father. His "papa" has a friend, named Frank Gagliano, who is also a bricklayer. The boys mother, a devout Italian Catholic, absolutely loathes Frank and considers him the very devil. When the boy's father is given a useless old mine, the two friends start spending their weekends there, drinking, eating and not doing much digging. The wife suspects they are up to no good, possibly womanising. She instructs her ten-year-old boy to go along and keep an eye on his father. What the boy witnesses shocks him beyond all belief.

"The Orgy" is a forty-page story, and the better of the two. It's gripping, funny and written with precision. It seems that Fante has spent more time polishing it. My Dog Stupid is really good too. A very enjoyable read that provides amusing portraits. But as I was reading it I wondered if this was something the author was still chipping away at and if he would have wanted it published. Either way, John Fante fans will be grateful for both works. And new readers will find a good introduction to this wonderful author.