Knut Hamsun

"Please, God, don’t abandon me, please, Knut Hamsun, don’t abandon me.” This is a "boutade" found in a novel by Fante and it highlights the immense influence he had on subsequent generations of prose writers. A fundamental author ("Hunger" and "Growth of the Soil" are absolute masterpieces that must be read before you die) who has suffered an unjust "damnatio memoriae" for his pro-Nazi positions.