A review by stephen_coulon
Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

It’s a short and brutal expression of utter empathy for those for whom society has absolutely nothing to offer. It’s about a newspaper advice columnist struggling to respond to letters sent to him from the truly desperate. The voices in these letters are sad and unsophisticated and bleak, as if adding any artistry to their cries would displace the debasement of their misery. There’s no attempt to ennoble their plights with a sense of virtue or beauty, their lives just suck. This feels like the ultimate form of empathy though, to honestly face the grim nature of suffering. Contrasting these letters of prosaic misery are other voices much more rich, Miss Lonelyhearts himself foiled against his editor Shrike. These two are elevated enough in society, are sophisticated enough thinkers, to understand the nihilistic implications of an existence that fosters such random cruelty. Lonelyhearts still hopes for a self-deceiving faith, while Shrike leans fully into a sadistic cynicism. West imbues Shrike’s voice with a sharp brutality, especially in extended monologues when he systematically dismantles of all the possibilities of life’s succor. It’s clever, but damn. As pessimistic as I am, this novel may still be a little too darkly honest to enjoy if it weren't for West’s masterful displays of style. It’s his efficiency that’s most impressive, the simple but powerful transfiguration of a physical object into rich emotion, his hammer-hits of metaphor that strike just at the right time. I need to read more West. There’s beauty in his frankness, though it’s distressing, like being in a room with a black hole.