Set in 1939 Hollywood, in the midst of the Great Depression, Nathanael West's novel The Day of the Locust centers on Tod Hackett, an aspiring set-designer come to Los Angeles to work in the film industry. West's exploration of those who struggle on the margins of Hollywood brings to a light a very real world full of desperation, hope, grit, and pain as Tod fights for love and success in the most unforgiving of environments.

The Day of the Locust, by Nathanael West, Signet Classics, 208 pp.