Genghis Cohen letter

[Orlowsky at aol.com]

>From the NY Times Book Review, July 17, 1966, pp. 22 & 24:

To the Editor:

In a recent letter to the editor, Romain Gary asserts that I took the name
"Genghis Cohn" from a novel of his to use in a novel of mine, The Crying of
Lot 49. Mr. Gary is totally in error. I have never read, skimmed, or
otherwise seen any of his novels. I took the name Genghis Cohen from the name
of Genghis Khan (1167-1227), the well-known Mongol warrior and statesman. If
Mr. Gary really believes himself to be the only writer at present able to
arrive at a play on words this trivial, that is another problem entirely,
perhaps more psychiatric than literary, and I certainly hope he works it out.

Thomas Pynchon
New York City