The literature on Nathanael West by this time is larger, no doubt, than his entire output—less than 450 pages in the one-volume complete edition. Yet West’s four short novels, all written in the 1930s and surrounded by his reputation as a Holly­wood script writer, continue to fascinate readers, who still look for sign and symbol of the books’ importance.

 

Irving Malin, a frequent contributor to this series, has taken a new approach to West’s novels. Rather than an examina­tion of sources, his new book provides, for the first time, a chronological, chapter-by-chapter examination of the novels. This detailed textual explication shows the novels’ designs, which create their powerful effects by the accumulation of significant recurring details.