New Releases by Nathanael West

Nathanael West, originally named Nathan Weinstein, (1903 – 1940), was an American writer, primarily known for his satirical novels of the 1930s. His best-known works are "The Day of the Locust" and "Miss Lonelyhearts." Published in 1939, " The Day of the Locust" is a novel about the mythologies of Hollywood and the "American Dream." Enigmatic and disconcerting, this work narrates the experience of a set designer in a semi-hallucinatory and artificial Los Angeles (itself resembling a movie set), inhabited by a parade of eccentric characters and a crowd bewitched by the magic of cinema and promises of abundance and happiness. Both apocalyptic and moving, violent and absurdly comic, " The Day of the Locust" is, in the opinion of many, the best novel ever written about Hollywood.

Novela retrata bastidores da indústria de cinema de Hollywood durante a Grande Depressão. Volume traz também textos inéditos do autor americano. Los Angeles, anos 1930. Enquanto a economia norte-americana sofre as consequências do crash de 1929, o distrito de Hollywood atrai um grande contingente de pessoas em busca de fama e sucesso no mundo do cinema. É esse o universo em que se situa O Dia do Gafanhoto, novela escrita por um dos principais prosadores norte-americanos do século XX, Nathanael West (1903-1940). A narrativa apresenta uma galeria de personagens que circulam pelos estúdios, mansões de milionários, bordéis, rinhas de galo e sets de filmagem da cidade. Entre eles, a tríade formada por Tod Hackett, um jovem artista que ganha a vida desenhando figurinos e cenários; a bela Faye Greener, dançarina aspirante ao estrelato; e Homer Simpson, um contador que se mudara para a Costa Oeste para se recuperar de uma pneumonia. Protagonistas que retratam alguns dos "típicos sujeitos que vão para a Califórnia para morrer", como descreve o autor. Publicado pela primeira vez em 1939, O Dia do Gafanhoto permanece um dos melhores retratos dos bastidores de Hollywood durante a Grande Depressão. Em 1975, foi adaptado para o cinema, em filme homônimo dirigido por John Schlesinger. O livro traz também uma seleção de contos, ensaios e o único poema escrito por West, revelados no espólio do autor.

Viiltävä klassikkoteos Hollywoodin filmiteollisuudesta. Eletään 1930-lukua. Tod Hackett on nuori taidemaalari, joka on vastikään muuttanut Hollywoodiin. Kykyjenetsijä kiinnostui Hackettin töistä Taidekorkeakoulun oppilasnäyttelyssä, ja niin Hackett päätyi opiskelemaan lavastusta ja pukusuunnittelua elokuvamaailman keskuksessa. Lavastaminen ei kuitenkaan ole Hackettin mielessä päällimmäisenä – hän suunnittelee maalausta nimeltään Los Angelesin palo. Viimeistään se näyttäisi koko maailmalle Hackettin kyvyt. Vaan mistä taulussa onkaan loppujen lopuksi kyse? Ja millaiset ovat Hollywoodin todelliset kasvot? Heinäsirkan aika on Nathanael Westin monikerroksellinen romaani, joka on yltänyt Yhdysvalloissa klassikkoasemaan. Yhdysvaltalainen kirjailija Nathanael West (1903–1940) työskenteli myös käsikirjoittajana. Häneltä on suomennettu muun muassa teokset Balso Snellin unielämä sekä Heinäsirkan aika.

Die legendäre Satire auf die Traumfabrik Hollywood. Nathanael West, der wie sein Freund F. Scott Fitzgerald jahrelang als Drehbuchautor in Hollywood verschlissen wurde, hat den Tagträumen des Filmproletariats seine Stimme gegeben: ein Rachefeldzug gegen Hollywood, der den Alptraum Amerika entlarvt.

Welcome to the Essential Novelists book series, were we present to you the best works of remarkable authors. For this book, the literary critic August Nemo has chosen the two most important and meaningful novels of Nathanael West wich are Miss Lonelyhearts and The Day of the Locust. Nathanael West was an American writer best known for satiric novels of the 1930s. West saw the American dream as having been betrayed, both spiritually and materially, and in his writing he presented "a sweeping rejection of political causes, religious faith, artistic redemption and romantic love". This idea of the corrupt American dream endured long after his death, in the form of the term "West's disease", coined by the poet W. H. Auden to refer to poverty that exists in both a spiritual and economic sense. Novels selected for this book: - Miss Lonelyhearts. - The Day of the Locust.This is one of many books in the series Essential Novelists. If you liked this book, look for the other titles in the series, we are sure you will like some of the authors.

In The Day of the Locust a young artist, Tod Hackett, arrives in Los Angeles full of dreams. But celebrity and artifice rule and he soon joins the ranks of the disenchanted that drift around the fringes of Hollywood. When he meets Faye Greener, an aspiring actress, he is intoxicated and his desperate passion explodes into rage. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.

Considered classics of American literature, Nathaneal West’s Miss Lonelyhearts and The Day of the Locust reveal America at the height of the Great Depression, evoking the disillusionment and despair of that time. Miss Lonelyhearts explores the suffering a young advice columnist working for a New York City newspaper. Locked into a deep depression as the result of his work, Miss Lonelyhearts seeks comfort in drink, in religion, and in the meaningless affair that becomes his downfall. In The Day of the Locust, aspiring artist Tod Hackett falls in love with Faye Greener, a beautiful starlet with big dreams. Through his work as a costume designer and his burgeoning friendship with Faye, Tod is introduced to the world behind the movies, and the varied and unusual characters that populate the fringes of Hollywood. HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.

Tod Hackett is a brilliant young artist - and a man in danger of losing his heart. Brought to an LA studio as a set-designer, he is soon caught up in a fantasy world where the cult of celebrity rules. But when he becomes besotted by the beautiful Faye, an aspiring actress and occasional call-girl, his dream rapidly becomes a nightmare. For, with little in the way of looks and no money to buy her time, Tod's desperate passion can only lead to frustration, disillusionment and rage ...

Años treinta. Un variopinto grupo de personajes lucha por triunfar en Hollywood, el paradigma del sueño americano. Sin embargo, el Hollywood que nos describe Nathanael West no es la glamourosa meca del cine a la que estamos acostumbrados, sino un sórdido microcosmos poblado por perdedores sometidos a su propia sed de triunfo. El escenógrafo Tod Hackett, uno de los personajes, al poco de llegar a este submundo se verá envuelto en la vida de siete individuos (desde un actor de vodevil venido a menos hasta una atractiva aspirante a actriz, pasando por un poderoso productor o un depravado gángster) a quienes el contacto con este universo artificial les corromperá tan pronto como descubran que la suerte, y no el talento, es la auténtica aliada del éxito. «En Hollywood te pueden pagar 1.000 dólares por un beso, pero sólo 50 centavos por tu alma.» Marylin Monroe

Two classic short stories, one about a male reporter who writes an advice column, and the other, about people who have migrated to California in expectation of health and ease.

THIS BOOK DEALS WITH THE FAILURE OF THE AMERICAN DREAM.