Willard Motley, Let Noon be Fair

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Let Noon Be Fair

(1966) is the last novel of Chicago African American novelist Willard Motley. Published posthumously, the book builds on Motley's long residence in Mexico by telling the story of a small coastal Mexican village (based on Puerto Vallarta) that becomes a centre for tourists from the USA. Motley's thesis is that the economic benefits that come with tourism are completely outweighed by negative factors – the loss of authentic Mexican culture and an accompanying loss of self respect among the citizens of the town.

As he had done in his second novel, We Fished All Night, Motley attempted to create a panoramic novel treating a major social upheaval. As before he was less successful than he had been in his more tightly focused fictions. He follows the progress of the village of

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Citation: Fleming, Robert E.. "Let Noon be Fair". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 March 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4016, accessed 23 November 2024.]

4016 Let Noon be Fair 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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