A Cool Million: The Dismantling of Lemuel Pitkin is Nathanael West's third novel, published in 1934. It is a brutal satire of eternal optimism.
A Cool Million, as its subtitle suggests, presents 'the dismantling of Lemuel Pitkin,' piece by piece. As a satire of the Horatio Alger myth of success, the novel is evocative of Voltaire's Candide, which satirized the philosophical optimism of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Alexander Pope. Pitkin is a typical '-Schlemiel', stumbling from one situation to the next; he gets robbed, cheated, unjustly arrested, frequently beaten and exploited. In a parallel plot Betty Prail, Pitkin's love interest, is raped, abused, and sold into prostitution. Over the course of the novel Pitkin manages to lose an eye, his teeth, his thumb, his scalp and his leg, but nevertheless retains his optimism and gullibility to the inevitably bitter end.
A Cool Million, as its subtitle suggests, presents 'the dismantling of Lemuel Pitkin,' piece by piece. As a satire of the Horatio Alger myth of success, the novel is evocative of Voltaire's Candide, which satirized the philosophical optimism of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Alexander Pope. Pitkin is a typical '-Schlemiel', stumbling from one situation to the next; he gets robbed, cheated, unjustly arrested, frequently beaten and exploited. In a parallel plot Betty Prail, Pitkin's love interest, is raped, abused, and sold into prostitution. Over the course of the novel Pitkin manages to lose an eye, his teeth, his thumb, his scalp and his leg, but nevertheless retains his optimism and gullibility to the inevitably bitter end.
Used availability for Nathanael West's A Cool Million
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Hardback Editions
January 2009 : Hardback
| Title: A Cool Million Author(s): Nathanael WEST Publisher: Lulu Press Availability: Amazon UK More details... |
January 1954 : Hardback
| Title: Cool Million Author(s): Nathanael West Publisher: NEVILLE SPEARMAN Availability: Amazon More details... |
1934 : Hardback
| Title: A Cool Million: The Dismantling of Lemuel Pitkin (The Dismantling of Lemuel Pitkin) Author(s): Nathaniel West Publisher: Covici-Friede Company; New York, NY Availability: Amazon More details... |
Paperback Editions
January 1961 : Paperback
| Title: A Cool Million Author(s): Nathanael West Publisher: Berkley Books Availability: Amazon More details... |
Audio Editions
March 2007 : Audio CD
| Title: A Cool Million (American) Author(s): Nathanael West ISBN: 1-86015-049-7 / 9781860150494 (UK edition) Publisher: Assembled Stories Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
September 1996 : Audio Cassette
| Title: Cool Million (American) Author(s): Nathanael West ISBN: 1-86015-438-7 / 9781860154386 (UK edition) Publisher: Assembled Stories Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
Other Editions
January 2011 : Kindle edition
| Title: A Cool Million Author(s): Nathanael West Publisher: MacMay Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
April 2010 : Kindle edition
| Title: A Cool Million Author(s): Nathanael West Publisher: Grotto Pulp Fiction Availability: Amazon More details... |
1954 : Unknown
| Title: A cool million: The dismantling of Lemuel Pitkin Author(s): Nathanael West Publisher: Neville Spearman Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
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