Miss Lonelyhearts & The Day of the Locust (New Edition)

Fiction & Literature, Literary
Cover of the book Miss Lonelyhearts & The Day of the Locust (New Edition) by Nathanael West, New Directions
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Nathanael West ISBN: 9780811219389
Publisher: New Directions Publication: June 23, 2009
Imprint: New Directions Language: English
Author: Nathanael West
ISBN: 9780811219389
Publisher: New Directions
Publication: June 23, 2009
Imprint: New Directions
Language: English

"A primer for Big Bad City disillusionment, unsparing in its portrayal of New York's debilitating entropy."—The Village Voice. With a new introduction by Jonathan Lethem.

First published in 1933, Miss Lonelyhearts remains one of the most shocking works of 20th century American literature, as unnerving as a glob of black bile vomited up at a church social: empty, blasphemous, and horrific. Set in New York during the Depression and probably West's most powerful work, Miss Lonelyhearts concerns a nameless man assigned to produce a newspaper advice column — but as time passes he begins to break under the endless misery of those who write in, begging him for advice. Unable to find answers, and with his shaky Christianity ridiculed to razor-edged shards by his poisonous editor, he tumbles into alcoholism and a madness fueled by his own spiritual emptiness.

During his years in Hollywood West wrote The Day of the Locust, a study of the fragility of illusion. Many critics consider it with F. Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished masterpiece The Last Tycoon (1941) among the best novels written about Hollywood. Set in Hollywood during the Depression, the narrator, Tod Hackett, comes to California in the hope of a career as a painter for movie backdrops but soon joins the disenchanted second-rate actors, technicians, laborers and other characters living on the fringes of the movie industry. Tod tries to seduce Faye Greener; she is seventeen. Her protector is an old man named Homer Simpson. Tod finds work on a film called prophetically “The Burning of Los Angeles,” and the dark comic tale ends in an apocalyptic mob riot outside a Hollywood premiere, as the system runs out of control.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

"A primer for Big Bad City disillusionment, unsparing in its portrayal of New York's debilitating entropy."—The Village Voice. With a new introduction by Jonathan Lethem.

First published in 1933, Miss Lonelyhearts remains one of the most shocking works of 20th century American literature, as unnerving as a glob of black bile vomited up at a church social: empty, blasphemous, and horrific. Set in New York during the Depression and probably West's most powerful work, Miss Lonelyhearts concerns a nameless man assigned to produce a newspaper advice column — but as time passes he begins to break under the endless misery of those who write in, begging him for advice. Unable to find answers, and with his shaky Christianity ridiculed to razor-edged shards by his poisonous editor, he tumbles into alcoholism and a madness fueled by his own spiritual emptiness.

During his years in Hollywood West wrote The Day of the Locust, a study of the fragility of illusion. Many critics consider it with F. Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished masterpiece The Last Tycoon (1941) among the best novels written about Hollywood. Set in Hollywood during the Depression, the narrator, Tod Hackett, comes to California in the hope of a career as a painter for movie backdrops but soon joins the disenchanted second-rate actors, technicians, laborers and other characters living on the fringes of the movie industry. Tod tries to seduce Faye Greener; she is seventeen. Her protector is an old man named Homer Simpson. Tod finds work on a film called prophetically “The Burning of Los Angeles,” and the dark comic tale ends in an apocalyptic mob riot outside a Hollywood premiere, as the system runs out of control.

More books from New Directions

Cover of the book The Rings of Saturn by Nathanael West
Cover of the book Into the Heart of Life: Henry Miller at One Hundred by Nathanael West
Cover of the book A Brief History of Portable Literature by Nathanael West
Cover of the book The Yellow Sofa by Nathanael West
Cover of the book The Rose Tattoo by Nathanael West
Cover of the book All The Poems: Stevie Smith by Nathanael West
Cover of the book Oranges & Peanuts for Sale by Nathanael West
Cover of the book The War Works Hard by Nathanael West
Cover of the book The Romantic Dogs: Poems by Nathanael West
Cover of the book Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Nathanael West
Cover of the book The Mongolian Conspiracy by Nathanael West
Cover of the book The Fox and Dr. Shimamura by Nathanael West
Cover of the book Spring and All (Facsimile Edition) by Nathanael West
Cover of the book Binstead's Safari by Nathanael West
Cover of the book Promise at Dawn by Nathanael West
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy