2026 Reading Challenge
Nathanael West

Nathanael West’s Followers (373)

member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo

Nathanael West


Born
in New York City, The United States
October 17, 1903

Died
December 22, 1940

Genre
Fiction, Novellas


Born Nathanael von Wallenstein Weinstein to prosperous Jewish parents, from the first West set about creating his own legend, and anglicising his name was part of that process. At Brown University in Rhode Island, he befriended writer and humourist S. J. Perelman (who later married his sister), and started writing and drawing cartoons. As his cousin Nathan Wallenstein also attended Brown, West took to borrowing his work and presenting it as his own. He almost didn't graduate at all, on account of failing a crucial course in modern drama. West indulged in a little dramatics of his own and, in tearful contrition, convinced a gullible professor to upgrade his marks.

After spending a couple of years in Paris, where he wrote his first novel, The ...more

Combine Editions

Average rating: 3.72 · 45,656 ratings · 3,381 reviews · 47 distinct works • Similar authors
The Day of the Locust
3.70 avg rating — 24,132 ratings — published 1939 — 218 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Miss Lonelyhearts / The Day...
3.89 avg rating — 10,447 ratings — published 1939 — 59 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Miss Lonelyhearts
3.56 avg rating — 7,070 ratings — published 1933 — 51 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Miss Lonelyhearts / A Cool ...
3.75 avg rating — 1,295 ratings — published 1934 — 11 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
A Cool Million
3.65 avg rating — 909 ratings — published 1934 — 40 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
A Cool Million and The Drea...
3.74 avg rating — 482 ratings — published 1931 — 32 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
The Dream Life of Balso Snell
3.24 avg rating — 533 ratings — published 1931 — 11 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Novels and Other Writings: ...
by
4.30 avg rating — 325 ratings — published 1957 — 2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
The Collected Works of Nath...
by
3.82 avg rating — 234 ratings — published 1966 — 21 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
The Day of the Locust and T...
3.67 avg rating — 225 ratings — published 1991 — 14 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
More books by Nathanael West…

Related News

Buying a gift for a bookworm seems like it should be easy, but it proves to be a daunting task year after year. Before you drive...
Read more...
109 likes · 27 comments
Quotes by Nathanael West  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Numbers constitute the only universal language.”
― Nathanael West
756 likes
Like

“Only those who still have hope can benefit from tears.”
― Nathanael West, The Day of the Locust
tags: hope
67 likes
Like

“He read it for the same reason an animal tears at a wounded foot: to hurt the pain.”
― Nathanael West, Miss Lonelyhearts
tags: pain
59 likes
Like

Polls

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
The Next Best Boo...: Cait's Reading Goals for 2010 - Kaput 27 151 Jan 04, 2011 09:09AM  
Challenge: 50 Books: Alex Khype - 2011 15 50 May 29, 2011 05:54PM  
Reading with Style: This topic has been closed to new comments. SU11 Reading w/Style Completed Tasks - Summer 2011 300 242 Aug 31, 2011 09:09PM  
Reading with Style: This topic has been closed to new comments. Summer 2012 Rws Completed Tasks 975 196 Aug 31, 2012 09:01PM  
The Seasonal Read...: This topic has been closed to new comments. Summer Challenge 2012: Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC 2637 934 Aug 31, 2012 09:02PM  
You'll love this ...: This topic has been closed to new comments. DeeDee's Rainbow Reporting 36 61 Dec 12, 2012 08:05PM  
Around the World ...: DeeDee's Roundtrip Around the USA 20 83 Dec 28, 2012 09:24AM  
Around the World ...: DeeDee's 2013 USA Roadtrip Circumnavigator 4 47 Jan 04, 2013 09:26AM