Nathanael West's classic short novel is the story of a newspaper columnist — a man who receives letters of heartbreak from the city's desperate souls. He comforts them in his weekly column, offering not only advice about love, but solace and escape from their depressed and unfortunate lives. But Miss Lonelyhearts himself may be one of the most desperate, an unsatisfied man searching for meaning in what he sees as a morally bankrupt city. West's novel is also a brilliant period piece of

—Alex Gilvarry