Nathanael West

A novel depicting Hollywood's decadence in the late 1930s. A deeply insightful work powerful in its presentation, staggering in its vision.

Nathanael West was born Nathan Weinstein in New York City on October 17th, 1903. Nathanael didn't really appreciate the qualities of an academic education. He forged his high school transcript to gain admission to Tufts and to get into Brown University appropriated the transcript of a fellow Tufts student who, conveniently, was also named Nathan Weinstein. However he did read extensively; French surrealists and British and Irish poets of the 1890s

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"A scornful feature editor of a newspaper picks an ambitious young reporter to conduct the advice of the lovelorn column. Ambitious, opportunistic, 'Miss Lonelyhearts, ' as the conductor of the column is inevitably dubbed, begins with contempt of the correspondents and confidence in his own cleverness. As time goes on, the genuineness of the agony in the letters that come in gets under the skin of the columnist. He is distressed to find himself presiding...

"'The Dream Life of Balso Snell' (1931), originally published in Paris, is in words of Robert Coates 'a fantasy, about some rather scatological adventures of the hero in the innards of the Trojan Horse.' 'Miss Lonelyhearts' (1933) is considered his [the author's] masterpiece. 'It is one of the books, ' writes Malcolm Cowley, 'that had very few readers for the first edition, but simply refuse to be forgotten.' 'A Cool Million' (1936), with the subtitle,...

Nathanael West's novel about Hollywood decadence in the late '30s is a brilliant piece of filmmaking. A deeply insightful work that is powerful in its presentation, staggering in its vision. Director John Schlesinger is masterful in creating a world of platinum blondes, cockfights, glamour and broken dreams. And throughout, he plays on the edge of sexual and physical danger which finally erupts in the shocking climax. Oscar® nominations went to Burgess...