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CHARACTERS AND PLOTS IN NATHANAEL WEST'S FICTION
by Robert L. Gale
 Nathanael West (1903-1940) was neglected in his lifetime but is now highly regarded by critics and general readers alike. He published four novels, eleven short stories, and many miscellaneous pieces in a tragically short career. He also wrote for Hollywood, but mainly for money. The Dream Life of Balso Snell is a literary satire taking place in the intestines of the Trojan Horse. Miss Lonelyhearts chronicles a newspaper columnist’s ineffective struggle to offer comfort to the lovelorn who write him for advice. A Cool Million depicts the failed efforts of a self-reliant lad seeking to achieve the American Dream by clean living and hard work. And The Day of the Locust savages, with unique thoroughness, the hypocrisy of the Hollywood film industry. West’s short fiction combines bitter humor and serious commentary. Careful readers are aware that his ideas are often pertinent today. He knew and was generally admired by most of the important writers of his time. If he had lived longer, he undoubtedly would have become a towering figure in American literary history. Nathanael West and his wife Eileen were both killed in a car accident when they were returning to Hollywood from a little Mexican vacation.
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