Bookatlas
1933
Cover of Miss Lonelyhearts

Miss Lonelyhearts

Nathanael West · 1903–1940 · United States

Why it matters

A male advice columnist drowns in the real despair behind his readers' anonymous letters. American compassion curdling into farce and horror in a slim, prophetic satire.

At a glance

satirepsychological novel
Difficulty 6/10fast pace108 pages

Compressed, grotesque imagery packed into a very short book.

More by Nathanael West →

Deep dive

West keeps daring his advice columnist to actually feel what his anonymous letter-writers feel, and keeps punishing every attempt he makes to do it — through cynicism, drink, sex, and finally religion — with something worse than the last.

Where to go next

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