These two dark stories, and the most notable works of the short career of Nathanael West, remain stunningly powerful pieces of fiction more than 75 years after their original publication.
West's final book, THE DAY OF THE LOCUST, focuses on the fringes of Hollywood. Tod Hackett, late of Yale, designs sets for movies. Poor, awaiting inspiration for a great painting, he frequents the underbelly of California life, meeting various frustrated characters: a shy bookkeeper from Iowa, a smart-aleck child actress, a raging dwarf, and an ...
The 'Agony Aunt' of the New York Post-Dispatch, Miss Lonelyhearts, is initially cynical about the letters he receives. They are a joke. Gradually, however, the letters begin to move him but he is powerless to help. Retreating from the pain into a fantasy world he starts to believe that he is a Christ figure, a universal saviour. But Christ died ...
Nathanael West was only thirty-seven when he died in 1940, but his depictions of the sometimes comic, sometimes horrifying aspects of the American scene rival those of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor. "A Cool Million," written in 1934, is a satiric Horatio Alger story set in the midst of the Depression. "The Dream Life of Balso Snell "(1931 ...
In this 1931 Dada-inspired work, the first novel of the author of "Miss Lonelyhearts" and "The Day of the Locust," the eponymous anti-hero stumbles across the Trojan Horse and climbs inside. His journey takes him through a mental jungle, offering an unforgettable look at the dark side of the American dream.
Tod Hackett is a brilliant young artist - and a man in danger of losing his heart. Brought to an LA studio as a set-designer, he is soon caught up in a fantasy world where the cult of celebrity rules. But when he becomes besotted by the beautiful Faye, an aspiring actress and occasional call-girl, his dream rapidly becomes a nightmare. For, with ...
In "Miss Lonelyhearts" the author creates the portrait of a character, all nerves and no skin, the fool of pity, whom the ordinary horror of ordinary life lacerates to the point of madness. "A Cool Million" parodies a myth of the American dream of success and wealth.
"The Day of the Locust" is an exposure of the sordid reality beneath the surface of Hollywood, where West worked and "The Dream Life of Balso Snell" is a surrealist fantasy.
Tod Hackett is a brilliant young artist - and a man in danger of losing his heart. Brought to an LA studio as a set-designer, he is soon caught up in a fantasy world where the cult of celebrity rules. But when he becomes besotted by the beautiful Faye, an aspiring actress and occasional call-girl, his dream rapidly becomes a nightmare. For, with ...
Edition: 1st printing. (First paperback edition)
Binding: Softbound
Publisher: Bantam.
Date Published: Feb 1955
Description: Very good. Corner wear. Edge rubs. Esoteric Fiction: An unforgettable picture of people inhabiting the bizarre and erotic underside of Hollywood. 1st printing. (First paperback edition) No Cover Price. (An image of this item is available. Ask seller. ) read more
Edition: 4th printing
Binding: Hardback
Date Published: 1960
Description: Very good copy with solid spine and clean covers. Dust jacket very good and covered w/mylar. Pages are toned due to age and there is underlining throughout. May have been used by a student. read more
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