A review by wuthrinheights
Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West

adventurous dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This story had a bit of a slow buildup but after a while I got the hang of it. I didn't care much for the characters, except maybe Betty. As a man disguised as a helpful woman, Miss Lonelyhearts was actually a dark person who struggled with his faith and morality. He had many internal conflicts between him and the letter writers who had difficult dilemmas (and often bad grammar), him and his co-workers, him with the people he met in the bar, and him with the women he was acquainted with. This story touched painful topics (that may be triggering to some), but it was also worded poetically which left me quite speechless from time to time. Each chapter was for a different day, a different dilemma. Some scenes reminded me of Dostoyevsky's The Double when he was out in the streets, and in general, I think this book could've been the adult version of The Catcher In The Rye--a protagonist with internal conflicts getting into all kinds of trouble by being misunderstood, who just wanted things to make sense inside his head; but with a splash of Christianity.