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 | | Miss Lonelyhearts & the Day of the Locust by Nathanael West ISBN-10: 9780811202152 ISBN-10: 0-8112-0215-1 ISBN-13: 9780811202152 ISBN-13: 978-0-8112-0215-2 Paperback 1969-06 New Directions Publishing Corporation Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description "Somehow or other I seem to have slipped in between all the 'schools,' " observed Nathanael West the year before his untimely death in 1940. "My books meet no needs except my own, their circulation is practically private and I'm lucky to be published." Yet today, West is widely recognized as a prophetic writer whose dark and comic vision of a society obsessed with mass- produced fantasies foretold much of what was to come in American life. Miss Lonelyhearts (1933), which West envisioned as "a novel in the form of a comic strip," tells of an advice-to-the-lovelorn columnist who becomes tragically embroiled in the desperate lives of his readers. The Day of the Locust (1939) is West's great dystopian Hollywood novel based on his experiences at the seedy fringes of the movie industry. "The work of Nathanael West, savagely, comically, tragically original, has come into its own," said novelist and screenwriter Budd Schulberg. "A new public [has] discovered in the writings of West a brilliant reflection of its own sense of chaos and helplessness in a world running more to madness than to reason." | ||
Reviews | ||
Great service The item I ordered arrived right away and in the condition that the description said it was in. It was well packaged. I would definitely order from this seller again without hesitation. | ||
Gritty, sordid and hopeless, but still worth reading Two short novels by `30's screen-writer Nathanael West are paired in this volume. Miss Lonelyhearts is an otherwise unnamed man who writes the advice column for a New York newspaper. Struggling under the weight of the endless tales of crushing misery that cross his desk every day, harried by the cynicism of his morally bankrupt boss, Mr. Shrike, and living an utterly bleak personal life in Depression-era New York City, the protagonist fumbles his way through a series of drunken misadventures until reaching his final destiny. The somewhat longer "Day of the Locust" exposes the lives of Hollywood hopefuls Tod Hackett, who works as a commercial artist, and Faye Greener, who dreams of being a movie star. Like so many others, Tod is consumed with desire for the stunning and seductive Faye, but she is only interested in people who can further her career. After losing the protection of her father, she makes an arrangement with a curious nonentity named Homer Simpson (no relation to the cartoon character) whom she mistreats mercilessly, leading to a brutal denouement. There is a subtle albeit powerful religious message that permeates both of these novels and one wonders if West (himself a lapsed Jew) fully recognized it, but all the time that the protagonists spend resisting and decrying Christianity, the storylines plainly demonstrate how empty and pointless their lives are without it. Gritty, sordid and hopeless, but still worth reading. A few passages may be too disturbing for some, and though these novels are surely not as shocking as they must have been when first published, they certainly should not be recommended for young people. | ||
Not pleasant reading Disturbingly violent and dark. Not the sharp cynical fun I had remembered from reading it years ago. I guess Mr. West does accomplish what he sets out to do, painting as dim a view of Hollywood as has ever been done. But it just doesn't make for very pleasant reading. | ||
No need to look for "deeper meanings" ...that is, unless someone (say, an English Lit professor, one of that nefarious cabal whose mission is to take young minds, and suck out of them all enthusiasm for, and pleasure in, reading) is making you do it. These two stories can stand on their own, without anyone's help. They're that good. I sincerely wish everyone knew West's name. That man could write. It's been almost 35 years since I read these stories in college, but I still remember them and how they affected me. | ||
Reader beware Wow. Much like Paul Bowles, this author takes no prisoners. May I suggest that you be in a stable frame of mind before reading this novel, lest it prove to be one unsettling factor too many for you. I found myself to be none too comfortable to be counted as a member of the human race at the end of this book. Written at about the same time as Raymond Chandler's early novels and set in the same real estate, The Day of the Locust is about five times as sordid. It is totally original and totally unpredictable, except for the scent of doom that pervades it from the opening page. You know that the author was writing about what he saw. Los Angeles and Hollywood were rotten seventy years ago. What must they be like now? West covers so much ground, with such economy, and it's all so readable. This devastating work is a remarkable achievement. What a staggering loss that Nathanael West died so young. And what a surprise to find Homer Simpson hiding out in such a fine novel. Highly recommended. | ||