The Day of the Locust (Signet classics)

West takes you closer still to the banality of the American psyche - flat, dull, and dressed in faked illussions.... not a coffe cup light read.... but a critical post modernist writer.. to get to his heart consider the idea of 'hyper-reality' and read again.. I would also say he forecast the LA riots... Genious!!

I admit, I skimmed through the last section. I see its validity as literature, but it's not my cup of tea.

a really depressing yet beautifully written book. The tone overall reminded me of F Scott Fitzgerald, at times sad and haunting at others bitterly funny. A really good read for a long bus/train/plane trip

Those poor, poor chickens...

Deeply surreal: Noir meets Kafka in Los Angeles--hands that move on their own disconnected from bodies, dying vaudeville clowns whose entire routines play out in five minute fits. Usual racist and sexist bullshit. Skewers Hollywood, celebrity culture, and America in ways that resonate today (c.f. Atlantic Monthly's cover story on Britney Spears, March 2008). The mob scene at the end is the...more

Deeply surreal: Noir meets Kafka in Los Angeles--hands that move on their own disconnected from bodies, dying vaudeville clowns whose entire routines play out in five minute fits. Usual racist and sexist bullshit. Skewers Hollywood, celebrity culture, and America in ways that resonate today (c.f. Atlantic Monthly's cover story on Britney Spears, March 2008). The mob scene at the end is the sharpest depiction of the shattering, destructive impulses at the heart of American desires.   hide

It has everything I want in a book.

West goes conventional, and then dies. An epic by West's standards: nearly 300 pages. It lacks the focus of his shorter novels, and bits of it are rather disposable. At its best, it's another sharp portrayal of consumerist, media-obsessed, shallow, meaningless America, but it lacks the punch of Miss Lonelyhearts. Shabby losers and outcasts with nothing meaningful in their lives don't always...more

West goes conventional, and then dies. An epic by West's standards: nearly 300 pages. It lacks the focus of his shorter novels, and bits of it are rather disposable. At its best, it's another sharp portrayal of consumerist, media-obsessed, shallow, meaningless America, but it lacks the punch of Miss Lonelyhearts. Shabby losers and outcasts with nothing meaningful in their lives don't always make good characters. It's more realistic, less grotesque, and ultimately has less of a clear conclusion. But still, West's a fine writer, and it's certainly of interest. And better than the film.   hide

Just so everyone knows, there is a character named "Homer Simpson" in this book.

sacha's recommendation and she knows me damn well so im sure ill enjoy