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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
2024 favourites in no particular order
#11 Nathanael West - ‘The Day of the Locust’ (1939)
An artist seeks inspiration under the corrupt, violently aspirational canopy of Hollywood. Simmers for a little bit and then keeps on exploding. A book about how an American Dream, sold as a right to all, is, in fact, a shifty substance harboured by chance and sacrifice. A beautiful character with no talent beats her head against her limitations; a recluse is ignored at a party in his own home; identities devolve into caricature. With this book, West says two very important things:
1. What you have to do to ‘make it’ in a system like Hollywood might not be worth it, artistically and psychologically.
2. It is never clear what ‘making it’ ever even looks like.
Killer final line.
4.5 stars
#11 Nathanael West - ‘The Day of the Locust’ (1939)
An artist seeks inspiration under the corrupt, violently aspirational canopy of Hollywood. Simmers for a little bit and then keeps on exploding. A book about how an American Dream, sold as a right to all, is, in fact, a shifty substance harboured by chance and sacrifice. A beautiful character with no talent beats her head against her limitations; a recluse is ignored at a party in his own home; identities devolve into caricature. With this book, West says two very important things:
1. What you have to do to ‘make it’ in a system like Hollywood might not be worth it, artistically and psychologically.
2. It is never clear what ‘making it’ ever even looks like.
Killer final line.
4.5 stars
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have no star review for this. I got about 25% in, and I am just not engaged. It might just be the wrong time for me to read this or the fact that I often don't relate to noir, but I can't seem to focus, so I am moving on.
Alright, so I decided to read this due to the reference to this book in Y: The Last Man comic. I did not like it. I see the appeal, it is over-the-top and definitely has a statement regarding Hollywood culture (or at least of the early-mid 1900's).
It seemed very intentional that all of the characters were crappy people, but that is why I couldn't find too much appeal in the story. I also have a big red flag for books that condone rape- and while no rape happened in the book, the protagonist seems to think of raping enough.
Sorry, Yorick. I just do not agree with your views on this book.
It seemed very intentional that all of the characters were crappy people, but that is why I couldn't find too much appeal in the story. I also have a big red flag for books that condone rape- and while no rape happened in the book, the protagonist seems to think of raping enough.
Sorry, Yorick. I just do not agree with your views on this book.
Possibly the worst book I've ever read in my life.
The Day of the Locust has a few really powerful moments, but as a whole it's underwhelming. West's style is at times too mean and too detached--this is especially a problem because most of the characters are too slimy to connect to. Honestly, even the narration is too mean at times. At least it's short.
The Day of the Locust is a book that has a huge reputation in the "literary world" but is seldom discussed outside of critics and English majors. I had heard the book mentioned so many times by people I admire, Stephen King among them, that I decided to read both this book and his strange novella Miss Lonelyhearts. From reading both it is clear why people either love or hate West. His books are dark, lack straight forward plots, and are filled with a very stylistic prose. West is a brilliant writer, that's clear whether you like him or not. Other authors are easier to read and much more fun, but there is a certain gravitas to the way West writes that makes his joyless novels impactful. In this book we have a story centered around a group of young people in 1930's Hollywood, each miserable and depraved. The story is thematically about the falsehood of Hollywood and the deceptive nature of the American dream and how people are driven to madness when life doesn't go the way they planned it. It's about Homer Simpson (the namesake for the Simpsons Character, though this Homer is more like Ned Flanders) and how even nice people are corrupted by what West sees as the ills of 1930's society. This is not a book I would necessarily recommend, but I am glad I read it. I'm not exactly sure why I enjoyed it, it's often dull, never fun, but it packs a punch.
lighthearted
slow-paced
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
This is so good. How can someone so depressing and bitter and cynical also be so accurate and precise and so alert to the world and the intricacies of human experience? I’m baffled by it. There are sentences here to treasure and moments of staggering brilliance.