Mean, Nitty, Gritty, Filthy Dirty…Hollywood
I live in Southern California, I’ve been all over Hollywood,
seen the historical sights, and have appreciated the rich cinema history that
SoCal offers. That’s why I love this
book. It’s local, and it exposes the
dirty underbelly that was the movie capital of the World. Set in the 1930’s, Nathaniel West’s novel of
the seedy side of Los Angeles is brilliant.
In many ways, it’s a dystopian narrative…nothing is redeeming about any
of the characters involved…you really end up hating every single one…and you
are looking forward to the eventual train wreck of all their lives…you only
hope it happens before the book runs out of pages. Ultimately, chaos does erupt in the end…and
what nasty tragedies do befall this horrific cast of urchins!
West’s book is a necessary commentary on the Depression Era
movie industry. You really feel the
seediness…it’s powerful and very visual…the images woven by the text bring this
story to life…it was worth the read. Two
more things before you go…yes, Homer Simpson is named for the character “Homer
Simpson” in the novel…and Faye Greener reminds me so much of Elizabeth
Short…you know…The Black Dahlia…and what a vicious end Miss Short met.
As with all this week’s books…The Day of the Locust ain’t free and first editions ain’t
cheap. However, you can get it from
Amazon, and in my humble opinion…it’s worth the price of admission.
