Books with title Day of the Locust

Admired by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dorothy Parker, and Dashiell Hammett, and hailed as one of the best 100 English-language novels by Time magazine, The Day of the Locust continues to influence American writers, artists, and culture. Bob Dylan wrote the classic song "Day of the Locusts" in homage, and Matt Groening's Homer Simpson is named after one of its characters. No novel more perfectly captures the nuttier side of Hollywood. Here the lens is turned on its fringes-actors out of work, film extras with big dreams, and parents lining their children up for small roles. But it's the bit actress Faye Greener who steals the spotlight with her wildly convoluted dreams of stardom: "I'm going to be a star some day - if I'm not I'll commit suicide."

The Day of the Locust is a 1939 novel by American author Nathanael West, set in Hollywood, California during the Great Depression, its overarching themes deal with the alienation and desperation of a broad group of odd individuals who exist at the fringes of the Hollywood movie industry. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked The Day of the Locust #73 on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. Time magazine included the novel in its list of 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005, and noted critic Harold Bloom included it in his list of canonical works in the book The Western Canon.

Tod Hackett is a brilliant young artist - and a man in danger of losing his heart. Brought to an LA studio as a set-designer, he is soon caught up in a fantasy world where the cult of celebrity rules. But when he becomes besotted by the beautiful Faye, an aspiring actress and occasional call-girl, his dream rapidly becomes a nightmare. For, with little in the way of looks and no money to buy her time, Tod's desperate passion can only lead to frustration, disillusionment and rage...

Thirteen-year-old best friends Antonio and Rachel were inseparable, growing up neighbors in the small Mexican border town of Cocobana. Then Rachel's American family moves to Laguna Beach, California and for the first time Antonio and Rachel live apart. After a year of forced separation not made any easier by their daily phone calls and texts, Antonio has had enough! He is determined to cross the dangerous border and reunite with his friend in America. Join him on his suspense-filled, magical, whimsical trek across deserts and mountains, visiting ghost towns and meeting creatures both friend and foe, as he journeys to again be with his first love, Rachel.

Thirteen-year-old best friends Antonio and Rachel were inseparable, growing up neighbors in the small Mexican border town of Cocobana. Then Rachel's American family moves to Laguna Beach, California and for the first time Antonio and Rachel live apart. After a year of forced separation not made any easier by their daily phone calls and texts, Antonio has had enough! He is determined to cross the dangerous border and reunite with his friend in America. Join him on his suspense-filled, magical, whimsical trek across deserts and mountains, visiting ghost towns and meeting creatures both friend and foe, as he journeys to again be with his first love, Rachel.