West, Nathanael: Day of the Locust (1939), v1
 

Nathanael West (born Nathan Weinstein; 1903-1940)

The Day of the Locust is a satirical take on Hollywood of the late 1930s, based on West's years as a Hollywood screenwriter, and follows a young artist from the Yale School of Fine Arts named Tod Hackett. who has been hired by a Hollywood studio to do scenic design and painting. West's four novels were not highly regarded in his lifetime but have grown in esteem since.

(One of the characters is named Homer Simpson.)