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A review by selenajournal
Miss Lonelyhearts and A Cool Million by Nathanael West
4.0
I made a promise to myself that I woudl actively work toward reading all of the books listed on the 1001 books to read before you die list. Sometimes I’ve pouted through the books and then there are times where the list leads me to a new author and gem that I would have missed completely.
Miss Lonelyhearts is Nathanael West’s most famous book, through really, it is a novella. Miss Lonelyhearts is the nickname for the advice columnist for a magazine. (the reader never finds out Miss Lonelyhearts’ real name). He takes the job and treats it as a joke – it was meant to be a joke. And then he has to read these letters. These letters that are filled with such misery and desperation that perfectly captures Depression era sentiments. It’s impossible to treat the letters flippantly once Miss Lonelyhearts reads their candid and tragic tales.
More troubled than all of the folks that write these sad letters is Miss Lonelyhearts himself. He wants so hard to help them but cannot even know where to begin. He tries alcohol to numb his mind and sex to tired it but to no avail. His fiance encourages him to quit his job, his editor makes a mockery out of his emotional response to these letters and even God and religion, he feels, fail him.
I’ve read commentary on the book which states that, in some ways, Miss Lonelyhearts is a representation of Christ. He sacrifices himself on the verge of what is a real religious epiphany and to what end? Life goes on just the very same.
I haven’t read the Great Gatsby but I’ve heard that it perfectly epitomizes life in post-WWII, Depression-era America. I think West’s Miss Lonelyhearts should be added to that list. In its few pages, it gives across the essence of a time.
Miss Lonelyhearts is Nathanael West’s most famous book, through really, it is a novella. Miss Lonelyhearts is the nickname for the advice columnist for a magazine. (the reader never finds out Miss Lonelyhearts’ real name). He takes the job and treats it as a joke – it was meant to be a joke. And then he has to read these letters. These letters that are filled with such misery and desperation that perfectly captures Depression era sentiments. It’s impossible to treat the letters flippantly once Miss Lonelyhearts reads their candid and tragic tales.
More troubled than all of the folks that write these sad letters is Miss Lonelyhearts himself. He wants so hard to help them but cannot even know where to begin. He tries alcohol to numb his mind and sex to tired it but to no avail. His fiance encourages him to quit his job, his editor makes a mockery out of his emotional response to these letters and even God and religion, he feels, fail him.
I’ve read commentary on the book which states that, in some ways, Miss Lonelyhearts is a representation of Christ. He sacrifices himself on the verge of what is a real religious epiphany and to what end? Life goes on just the very same.
I haven’t read the Great Gatsby but I’ve heard that it perfectly epitomizes life in post-WWII, Depression-era America. I think West’s Miss Lonelyhearts should be added to that list. In its few pages, it gives across the essence of a time.