Two stunning pieces of work in one slender volume. It's got all the hallmarks of deep, dark prose - Morose insights into the human condition, filthy landscapes beneath false chrome...Plus 'Day of the Locust' is where Matt Groening culled the name for Homer Simpson!

West died young in spectactularly gruesome fashion at a young age (one day after Fitzgerald), an end lending him nearly as much street credibility in the age of cynicism as his writing.