Chirbes loved this 1933 American novel, and I read it on his recommendation. It din’t impress me, though. There are so many American and European novels from this time period, all of which are written in the same brittle, sarcastic tone which aims to shock the reader with its transgressiveness. I’ve read so many of them that I find them almost indistinguishable. Miss Lonelyhearts it’s an American novel, so it has a religious component, which many of its European counterparts lack. But other than that, reading about a bunch of disordered, mean alcoholic and promiscuous people who feel extremely dramatic about themselves makes very little sense.
Miss Lonelyhearts is about a young journalist who writes an agony column for a newspaper. He is traumatized by the letters people send in recounting their tragedies. His incapacity to find solace in religion makes him desperate. The idea for the novel is good, but the tone kills everything. It’s been done too many times to make an impression. I understand that it’s the zeitgeist, and the writer can fail to avoid channeling it. But this understanding does not advance my enjoyment.
If you want to read something from that era, I recommend the short stories by Dorothy Parker. They are very similar to what Nathanael West is doing in this novel, but Dorothy Parker had a sense of humor and that she makes her writing worth it.
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