Miss Lonelyhearts

Miss Lonelyhearts, novel by Nathanael West, published in 1933. It concerns a male newspaper columnist whose attempts to give advice to the lovelorn end in tragedy. The protagonist, known only by his newspaper nom de plume, Miss Lonelyhearts, feels powerless to help his generally hopeless correspondents. His boss, Willie Shrike, relentlessly mocks him for taking his job seriously. When Lonelyhearts tries to become personally involved with one of his correspondents, he is killed.