Pen name of Nathan Weinstein 1904-1940. US
black-humour novelist. His
surrealist-influenced novels capture the
absurdity and extremity of American life and
the dark side of the American dream. The Day
of the Locust 1939 explores the violent
fantasies induced by Hollywood, where West
had been a screenwriter. Miss Lonelyhearts
1933 is about a newspaper advice columnist
who feels the misfortunes of his
correspondents; A Cool Million 1934 satirizes
the rags-to-riches dream of success.