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I got interested in V.S. Naipaul after reading this essay-- well technically a book review of a Naipaul biography-- by Christopher Hitchens-- Cruel and Unusual
by savanaly 8y ago
I got interested in V.S. Naipaul after reading this essay-- well technically a book review of a Naipaul biography-- by Christopher Hitchens-- Cruel and Unusual [0]. It explains and summarizes Naipaul's literary significance as well as the fascinating fact that he acted very badly in his personal life. I read his Middle Passage travelogue after that after I read that and it did not disappoint as far as callousness goes. Although I wouldn't exactly say that it is what we should aspire to I did like it in its own way.
[0] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/11/cruel-and-unusual/307073/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/11/cruel-a...
- 2sk21 8y agoOne that becomes clear is that V. S. Naipaul is probably the least sympathetic literary figure ever.
- Tloewald 8y agoHe has a lot of competition.
- cambalache 8y agoGood authors write good literature. An adult should not look for more in a writer. Give me Celine, Houellebecq and Naipaul one million times before the well-behaved, PC, generic , boring writer who tend to populate current prizes and recommended lists.
- droopyEyelids 8y agoIs it too much to ask that a writer respect women?
- ggm 8y agoFor a distressingly large cohort of writers of note (think Kingsley Amis) and their adoring fans, alas yes.
- erikpukinskis 8y agoIs “well-behaved, PC, generic, and boring” really the central alternative to “entirely unsympathetic”?
- prepend 8y agoFrequently, yes. Theoretically, you can have an artist that is well-behaved and interesting. But we don’t get to make that choice and you can’t custom order creativity to take the good bits and leave the bad bits (although crispr gets better and better). Especially since if you start blocking out the unsympathetic artists early in their career due to being jerks and criminals and whatnot, this would have prevented many of the great artists. For example a letter in 1968 shows John Lennon as a wife beater amongst other deplorable things [0]. Stopping him at this point would have deprived the world of many creations. [0] https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lennon-was-a-bully-and-cheat-housekeeper-told-lawyers-kjctffw0chf https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lennon-was-a-bully-and-ch...
- erikpukinskis 8y agoWould it have deprived the world, or would the world have turned its attention to another artist? What reason do we have to think no one else would’ve stepped into Lennon’s niche?
- prepend 8y agoI think it’s impossible to know, but 50 years later and there’s no Lennon. If you don’t care about art or beauty being uniquely special,it doesn’t matter.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]