Miss Lonelyhearts

Miss Lonelyhearts is a novella by Nathanael West. He began writing it early in 1930 and completed the manuscript in November 1932. Published in 1933, it is an Expressionist black comedy set in New York City during the Great Depression. It is about a male newspaper advice columnist who provides advice to lonesome people. He becomes so affected by their desperate letters that he spirals into depression, drinking, and ill-considered sexual affairs, which lead to his downfall.