/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.21409208]

Why does Hawkes get so little attention? He was one of the most talented US postmodernists, on par with a Gass or even a Gaddis, but no one seems to read or talk about him.
Anyway Hawkeschads what's your favorite from him?

[Anonymous No.21409311]

The pool of would-be readers is too small. Even the "great" postmodernists are appreciated only by a very small circle of college-educated literature nerds from the upper-middle and upper classes. A minority of them might be interested, but they're by far a minority.

[Anonymous No.21409756]

>>21409208
I have that book somewhere. I'm a super fan of post-modernist writers of literature; I read the first page of it because I try to know what the first page in every book I own is like. The beginning of Second Skin was very good. I hope to read it as soon as I find it in my mess of books. Maybe The Lime Twig too.

>>21409311
It is a small amount I agree.

[Anonymous No.21410999]

>>21409208
I'd never thought about it until this thread, but I believe there's actually a very straightforward answer. All the other US postmodernists (Gass, Gaddis, Pynchon, McElroy, even DeLillo) have at least one massive tome upon which their reputation rests. Hawkes doesn't. I think a lot of pomo fanboys have this misguided view that the longer the novel, the more profound and visionary it is. Maybe an oversimplification, but I bet there's actually some truth behind it.

Anyway, my favorite is Travesty.

[Anonymous No.21411292]

>>21410999
I'd thought about that, it does seem like the sort of person who goes in for US pomo is unusually excited by doorstoppers.

[Anonymous No.21411323]

>>21410999
More that they each have at least one work that is bottomless, analysis will never end, which keeps them getting attention from academics which keeps them getting attention everywhere.

But Hawkes is well respected and we used to have regular threads on him, but he is not well known enough to attract much in the way of easily trolled larpers so he does not get much attention here anymore.

[Anonymous No.21411347]

>>21409208
>on par with a Gass or even a Gaddis
why do you talk like this

[Anonymous No.21412879]

>>21409208
>Why does Hawkes get so little attention?
The pool of would-be readers is too small and /lit/ doesn't read books, so people discussing him here is non-existent.

[Anonymous No.21412895]

>>21409208
His most famous book is the Lime Twig which is one of the most difficult books I've ever read. I assume most people try it, read a couple dozen pages and realize they don't understand a thing that's happening and then never think about him again. Still the only work I've read that treats chronology like Play-Doh and still manages to be good

[Anonymous No.21412901]

>>21410999
I freaking loved Travesty. Its deliciously ridiculous. Its actually rare to find a novel that tells a story as smooth and evenly as Travesty. Every reveal was better than the last.

[Anonymous No.21412906]

>>21411292
I hate this mindset so much. I don't enjoy any work on the human condition over 300 pages, the best length is 150 pages. Anything more and it's guaranteed to be filled with pointless exposition and there isn't enough time on this earth for me to read pointless exposition. Maybe if we lived 1000 years I'd think differently

[Anonymous No.21412986]

>>21409208
As an American it's incredibly disappointing that the only time I see threads on /lit/ about authors I want to talk about is at 4am when I wake up randomly. Hawkes is an American author, why does no one here read him?

[Anonymous No.21413018]

>>21412986
because nobody here actually reads

[Anonymous No.21413427]

>>21409208
Talk to me Americans. Show me you appreciate one of the few authors of yours with European sensibilities

[Anonymous No.21413431]

>>21412986
As far as Hawkes being not discussed on /lit/? Because he can’t be broken down into some ideological lowest common denominator

[Anonymous No.21413436]

>>21413431
>he can’t be broken down into some ideological lowest common denominator
That has never stopped this board from reducing things down to some ideological lowest common denominator.

[Anonymous No.21413439]

>>21412986
Shut the fuck up, you miserable cunt

[Anonymous No.21413443]

>>21413436
True. I guess he just isn’t popular enough. He used to get mentioned more when /lit/ was all about postmodern and proto-postmodern literature. But like others said, he doesn’t have the doorstopper that a lot of those postmodern fans love

[Anonymous No.21413448]

>>21413443
I think it is probably because wikipedia does not have enough info on his books to allow larping, that is generally how it goes here. The bigger the wikipedia page the more likely it will be discussed here.

[Anonymous No.21413525]

>>21412895
Lime twig is easier than The Bettle leg desu. The narrative in Bettle leg has so many transitions that it reads like a more difficult 'beyond the zero' (GR). I reckon Hawkes had an influence on Pynchon.

[Anonymous No.21413534]

>>21413439
Bot

[Anonymous No.21413538]

>>21413534
>Bot

[Anonymous No.21413604]

>>21413538
Wow way to make it obvious lol. This is the wrong board for that response to make sense.