Jonathan Lethem and Laurence A. Rickels - Animating their zone of interrogation is the "blot"--an algorithm of innuendo, an uncanny defamiliarization of reality and "truth" wherein the trajectories of meaning, desire and perception fold into themselves like an origami in flames

Jonathan Lethem and Laurence A. Rickels, The Blot, Anti-Oedipus Press, 2016.


In this supplement to Jonathan Lethem's novel A Gambler's Anatomy, the renowned novelist engages in a concerted transatlantic dialogue with cult theorist Laurence A. Rickels, exploring the vicissitudes of popular culture and the profound influence of Philip K. Dick on their respective lines of flight. Foregrounding the introjections between California and Germany, they address a range of ideas, subjects and figures, from B-movies, science fiction, Wile E. Coyote and the Devil to trauma theory, Freud, Hitchcock and German Expressionism. Animating their zone of interrogation is the "blot"--an algorithm of innuendo, an uncanny defamiliarization of reality and "truth" wherein the trajectories of meaning, desire and perception fold into themselves like an origami in flames.




A Gambler's Anatomy is the latest novel from Copyfighting certified genius Jonathan Lethem (previously) -- a book about an international backgammon hustler who believes he is psychic -- and who sports a huge tumor growing from his face.

Lethem carried on a correspondence about this book and its premise with "cult theorist" Laurence A. Rickels, delving into the weird ways in which Philip K Dick has influenced both of them (Lethem's written and spoken extensively on PKD). 

This correspondence has been collected in a new book called The Blot, which "sets the scene" for Gambler's Anatomy. - boingboing.net/2016/10/19/the-blot-correspondence-betwe.html