A review by ridge_patterson
The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West

4.0

Any great deed is motivated by a dream or vision, but what happens if the dream is all that exists, untethered to any practical purpose? In Nathanael West’s Day of the Locust, these dreams that people are inhabit are the true opium of the masses, and it’s not tied to any one particular thing: silver screen stardom, spiritual awakening, sultry beauties parading in peepshows, and self-sacrificial limerence all operate on the same principle of creating an illusion that supplants reality. This book is pretty sordid and unsavory, but like a swig of vodka it delivers a good mule kick to the head. Dreams are empty suits only animated by the imaginations of individuals, and dreams that overshadow reality create slaves.