Sometimes you pick the author, the library picks the book

I'm always on the lookout for Western authors. Not Western in the sense of Louis L'Amour or Zane Gray, but 20th Century to the present, perhaps embodied by Wallace Stegner or possibly even Raymond Chandler.

So I was excited to read in this Westword blog post about John Fante, in honor of his 99th birthday. Fante, who died in 1983, was an under-the-radar author from Colorado. Apparently his childhood experiences in Colorado shape and shade many of his writings, though many take place in California. I also learned that he inspired and influenced Charles Bukowski, but I won't hold that against him.

The author of at least ten novels, multiple short stories and screenplays, the Denver Public Library has plenty of his titles amongst their holdings. The one I found when I stopped at the Central Library on a break this afternoon was The Brotherhood of the Grape. I know next to nothing about this title written by an author I know next to nothing about.

But I am looking forward to getting started.