Miss Lonelyhearts and The Day of the Locust

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"Miss Lonelyhearts and The Day of the Locust sold poorly in West's lifetime, although they were critically praised; the New Yorker reported, 'Taken together, these two novels say more about the way we live now — and the things that brought us to our present pass — than any other work of fiction I can think of.' Despite, perhaps, his focus on desperation, West is a joy to read; subtle and quick, he is never heavy-handed, and his more thoughtful characters contain original (though often futile) insight into the nature of malaise. Influential, relevant, and disturbing, these novels remain an arresting and thought-provoking read." Jill Owens, Powells.com (read the entire Powells.com review)

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Lisa Brown, September 21, 2010 (view all comments by Lisa Brown)
my executive editor at the magazine i worked at in washington, DC, recommended that i read "miss lonelyhearts" awhile ago, but i was actually a bigger fan of "the day of the locust." both stories ring true, as if they had been written during the current recession rather than circa 1933. the plight of miss lonelyhearts—a man with a bizarre brand of savior complex—is a tragicomical train wreck from which you just can't look away, although each & every character (save for his column's anonymous, faceless readers) is intensely unlikeable. that being said: the typos & egregious misspellings that plague the letters to miss lonelyhearts made me want to take my trusty red pen & stab myself in both eyes. no offense to mr. west, as the grammatical & spelling errors (not to mention largely absent punctuation) are clearly intentional. it's just my cross to bear as an editor.

although the protagonist of "the day of the locust" isn't 100% sympathetic as far as characters go, he & the rest of the cast of characters are largely relatable—& none are without their flaws. the result is a startlingly honest portrait of california as america's ill-conceived "promised land," moved forward by glimpses into the lives of individual players who are at once unique/fully realized and archetypal. mostly, it's a commentary on the nature of violence & humanity's attraction to it. mob as living organism, yadda yadda yadda. clocking in at just 185 pages for both novels combined (novellas, really, but why split hairs), it's definitely worth the day or two you'll spend burning through its pages.

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Product Details

ISBN:

9780811202152

Subtitle:

And the Day of the Locust

Author:

West, Nathanael

Author:

West, Nathaniel

Publisher:

New Directions Publishing Corporation

Location:

New York :

Subject:

General

Subject:

Literary

Subject:

Fiction

Subject:

American

Subject:

Novels and novellas

Subject:

Literature

Subject:

American fiction (fictional works by one author)

Subject:

New york (n.y.)

Subject:

Motion picture industry

Subject:

California

Subject:

Los angeles (calif.)

Copyright:

1962

Edition Number:

Reset ed.

Edition Description:

Reset

Publication Date:

January 1975

Binding:

Paperback

Language:

English

Illustrations:

Yes

Pages:

185 p.

Dimensions:

8.54x4.62x.45 in. .40 lbs.