Reading discussion + general comments, background and resources

[The Reading Bibliophile]

Any ideas, questions, information about this book. Tell us what you think.

[Dominique]

I enjoyed it. I laughed when I saw the name of the bookkeeper (I won't say it for those who have not read it yet but I can say it is the name of a very famous comics character). And I found it interesting as I learnt a new word: victrola: gramophone used in the 1920s-1930s.

[Peter]

I enjoyed this one too! I haven't really read anything from this guy before, and I found it a bit similar to Fitzgerald and even Hemingway or early Hunter S. Thompson with the strict, short, tough sentences and kind of macho rhythm of the text. Yes, the bookkeeper's name is really funny looking back from where we are.

I also found out that West died one day after Fitzgerald who had been a friend of his. Apparently he got so upset by the news that he missed a traffic sign and died with his young wife in the ensuing car crash. The Day of the Locust was his last book.

[The Reading Bibliophile]

I've found the word "victrola" in Hayes' novel "My face for the world to see".

What a sad way to die...