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The Intuitionist
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The Intuitionist (edit title/settings)

by Colson Whitehead (Author) (edit contributors)

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Colson Whitehead's The Intuitionist wowed critics and readers everywhere and marked the debut of an important American writer. This marvellously inventive, genre-bending, noir-inflected novel, set in the curious world of elevator inspection, portrays a universe parallel to our own, where... read more

Summary edit see section history

In the midst of an electoral campaign for the guild chair in which the Empiricist candidate Chancre is competing with the Intuitionist Lever for the Guild chair position, Lila Mae Watson finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

WARNING FOR SPOILERS BELOW.

Lila Mae Watson is an... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

In the midst of an electoral campaign for the guild chair in which the Empiricist candidate Chancre is competing with the Intuitionist Lever for the Guild chair position, Lila Mae Watson finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

WARNING FOR SPOILERS BELOW.

Lila Mae Watson is an elevator inspector; first African-American woman to get the job. An intuitionnist, is never wrong. Then number 11 (an Arbo elevator) free-falls. She's accused and thinks the only other colored inspecter, Pompey, is the origin of the supposed sabotage.

Lila Mae finds thugs going through her appartment, is rescued by Reed who takes her to intuitionist house.

There she meets Natchez who tells her that he is Fulton's nephew (Fulton being the founder of Intuitionism) and that Fulton was colored. Reed talks Lila Mae into talking to Mrs. Rogers, Fulton's house keeper, to try to get information about the Black Box, the perfect elevator. Rogers lets her in but doesn't give her any info.

When she gets out, Lila Mae is abducted by men working for Shush, the local kingpin. From the car she sees Pompey entering a Shush building. Turns out Shush works for Chancre. She doesn't know him then but she hears (and sees) the journalist Ben Urich who is being « persuated » not to write his article for Lift on the mythical Black Box, Fulton's perfect elevator.

When she gets back to her apartment, it's been sacked. She gets a car from the (colored) mechanic who has a crush on her and finds her friend Chuck (her Jewish friend) – is hoping for information. He tries to convince her to talk to IAB (she's their only lead but he doesn't think it's her) but also gives her confirmation that the building she saw Pompey go in is a Shush building.

Lila Mae doesn't return to Intuitionist House, sees Reed, is cued in to the presence of the journals and allies herself with Natchez. She goes to the Funicular Follies and passes unnoticed as a waitress. There, she witnesses Chancre get hurt as the man-lift (a United) he's on crashes. She meets up with Natchez who claims to have photographed Fulton's journals at IH. Then she confronts Pompey, which gives him a chance to prove his innocence.

Then Lila Mae goes to Lift Magazine, finds out Natchez' betrayal from Ben Urich and the corporate game underneath, escapes, gets the diaries from Mrs. Rogers, has a meeting with Natchez/Coombs, and sets to writing volume 3 of Theoretical Elevators.

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Lila Mae Watson: First female colored elevator inspector, and the protagonist.
  • Natchez: A mysterious young man who works at Intuitionist house and teams up with Lila Mae.
  • Fulton: The father of Intuitionnism.
  • Mrs. Rogers: Fulton's housekeeper.
  • Chancre: Empiricist, the current Guild Chair rerunning for office.
  • Lever: Intuitionist, Chancre's opponent in the run for the chair office.
  • Reed: Intuitionist, Lever's assistant.
  • John and Jim: A pair of thugs who work for Shush.
  • Pompey: The first male colored elevator inspector.
  • Ben Urich: Journalist for Lift Magazine.
  • Chuck: Jewish elevator inspector, friend of Lila Mae's and Empiricist.
  • Shush: Local mobster.
Show all 12 characters
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Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Colson Whitehead (Author)

Classification edit see section history

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