John Fante's 1952 novel, the inspiration for the film starring Judy Holliday and Richard Conte

If you have ever been a member of a family that has ever been "in a family way," this is your book. The narrator of this extravagant domestic comedy—also named John Fante—finds himself a homeowner and expectant father almost simultaneously. While his wife, Joyce, reads up on pregnancy and motherhood, John finds himself at loose ends as he struggles to deal with his quickly changing life.

When termites destroy the kitchen floor, the Fante family must deal with yet another arrival—the narrator's father, the best bricklayer in California. Soon the crowded house feels a bit too confining for confinement, and there are still months to go before Baby Fante's arrival.

Written with wit and a sharp observational eye, Full of Life is a one-of-a-kind novel about what it takes to grow a family.

In the definitive biography of John Fante, English and film studies professor Stephen Cooper explores the life of a man whose muse was Los Angeles.