/lit/ - Literature

I just finished "A Journey into the Mind of Watts".

https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/05/18/reviews/pynchon-watts.html?_r=1

What the FUCK is his problem?

Throughout the piece he seems to suggest that there is a white way of being and a black way of being. And that the white way of being is control and peace and that the black way of being is chaotic and dangerous. And he implies that his model of blackness is worthy of praise (as well as pity that Whitey tries to suppress it). Like this:

>It is, after all, in white L.A.'s interest to cool Watts any way it can--to put the area under a siege of persuasion; to coax the Negro poor into taking on certain white values. Given them a little property, and they will be less tolerant of arson; get them to go in hock for a car or color TV, and they'll be more likely to hold down a steady job. Some see it for what it is--this come-on, this false welcome, this attempt to transmogrify the reality of Watts into the unreality of Los Angeles. Some don't.

This is such a patronizing and childish piece. There is no worldview behind it except adolescent anger at authority for the sake of it and shit-flinging.

The Crying of Lot 49 is his only book I like. It's a shame he didn't steer himself fully in that direction. I'm looking for recommendations for someone who likes stuff like it and some of Borges' stuff. Puzzles, games, enigmas and the like.

>>11363543
He's next.

If he had decided to be an essayist or gonzo journalist instead of using fiction to distribute his knowledge would he have been instantly blacklisted/assassinated?

I keep thinking about how funny it is that this board thought that 'Not Bill Murray' guy was Pynchon. As if that buck-toothed fucker is that erudite. You know he employs research teams for his books, right? Of course you don't, you teenage dilettantes. That would require you to be a seasoned reader. Fucking joke of a board.