Miss Lonelyhearts

Miss Lonelyhearts (1933) is Nathanael West's short, devastating novel about a male newspaper columnist who writes under the name 'Miss Lonelyhearts.' Drowning in the genuine misery of his correspondents' letters, he seeks escape through drink, sex, and a Christ-like fantasy of universal love — each attempt ending in failure and violence. Written in taut, surrealist prose, it is one of the darkest comedies in American literature.