Hmm - now that you mention it, this book does remind me of Evelyn Waugh's "The Loved One". That was another black comedy - but it also makes for depressing reading.
When I'm reading a book like this, I know it's going to end badly, and I think that makes me distance myself emotionally from it. :)
I’ve not read “The Loved One”, but “Miss Lonelyhearts” doesn’t much remind me of the Waugh that I have read. If anything, I’d try to compare it to Kingsley Amis. And in doing so, it seems that “Lonelyhearts” doesn’t have a sustained absurdity that I’d expect from a black comedy. The closest it comes is the letters with their random spelling, awkward construction, and seemingly over-the-top suffering. But they don’t seem played for laughs. Instead, they create a sense of futility—what’s the point of a few paragraphs of anonymous advice in a situation like that?
Did anybody notice that Shrike’s utterances were frequently described as jokes but not presented as jokes? Likewise, Lonelyhearts job was described as a joke, but it always seemed more pathetic than ridiculous.
Interesting notion, Shanxi, that you modulate your engagement based on your expectation of where you think it is going. I don’t know if I do that; I’ll have to think about it.
Shanxi, that's a good survival tactic for a reader. I think I do that, too.
Great point, DW, about the letters creating a sense of helplessness. Yeah. What do you tell people who not only have the horrible problems they describe but also have horrible problems they may not even be aware of? And they're putting this almost religious faith in you to improve their situation with some magic piece of advice.
The whole column came about as a "circulation stunt." It's a joke to the staff and even to Lonelyhearts at first, but the letters start to get to him. "For the first time in his life, he is forced to examine the values by which he lives. This examination shows him that he is the victim of the joke, and not its perpetrator."
In terms of comedy, it is interesting that West wrote this right at the end of Prohibition. Of course, Prohibition became law in the first place because of campaigns about the “evils of alcohol”. But by the early ‘30s, those concerns had faded in the face of the violence of the gangs running the black market. A lot of the population was disposed to think of drunkenness as amusing. The series of “Thin Man” movies—the first in 1934—was a popular series based on the premise that it is great fun to solve mysteries while on a non-stop bender. Very funny films.
Hmm - now that you mention it, this book does remind me of Evelyn Waugh's "The Loved One". That was another black comedy - but it also makes for depressing reading.
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm reading a book like this, I know it's going to end badly, and I think that makes me distance myself emotionally from it. :)
I’ve not read “The Loved One”, but “Miss Lonelyhearts” doesn’t much remind me of the Waugh that I have read. If anything, I’d try to compare it to Kingsley Amis. And in doing so, it seems that “Lonelyhearts” doesn’t have a sustained absurdity that I’d expect from a black comedy. The closest it comes is the letters with their random spelling, awkward construction, and seemingly over-the-top suffering. But they don’t seem played for laughs. Instead, they create a sense of futility—what’s the point of a few paragraphs of anonymous advice in a situation like that?
ReplyDeleteDid anybody notice that Shrike’s utterances were frequently described as jokes but not presented as jokes? Likewise, Lonelyhearts job was described as a joke, but it always seemed more pathetic than ridiculous.
Interesting notion, Shanxi, that you modulate your engagement based on your expectation of where you think it is going. I don’t know if I do that; I’ll have to think about it.
Shanxi, that's a good survival tactic for a reader. I think I do that, too.
ReplyDeleteGreat point, DW, about the letters creating a sense of helplessness. Yeah. What do you tell people who not only have the horrible problems they describe but also have horrible problems they may not even be aware of? And they're putting this almost religious faith in you to improve their situation with some magic piece of advice.
The whole column came about as a "circulation stunt." It's a joke to the staff and even to Lonelyhearts at first, but the letters start to get to him. "For the first time in his life, he is forced to examine the values by which he lives. This examination shows him that he is the victim of the joke, and not its perpetrator."
In terms of comedy, it is interesting that West wrote this right at the end of Prohibition. Of course, Prohibition became law in the first place because of campaigns about the “evils of alcohol”. But by the early ‘30s, those concerns had faded in the face of the violence of the gangs running the black market. A lot of the population was disposed to think of drunkenness as amusing. The series of “Thin Man” movies—the first in 1934—was a popular series based on the premise that it is great fun to solve mysteries while on a non-stop bender. Very funny films.
ReplyDeleteDrinking in “Lonelyhearts” is nothing but grim.