Greetings for better times  Joe
I read most of Fante's
I had to stop very quickly after beginning most
BUT
”Ask The Dust” & “The Road To Los Angeles” were Light  for me

“bland” you say compared to Fante
not your books and poems i say
i came to view my many bland periods & phases as rest stops ... collecting & absorbing  historical... i wasn't dead
Os  Bill
commondreams.org
beyond words
billdane.com