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I never appreciated Literature in college. I took the courses, and faked my way through the course work. Yea--I read the books, but most were just dry, and ha
by icantdrive55 10y ago
I never appreciated Literature in college. I took the courses, and faked my way through the course work. Yea--I read the books, but most were just dry, and hard to read; for myself.
Years later, I read Lolita. There was a part of me that almost put it down. I read it because I wondered what all the fuss was about. From the first page, it might be the best written book I have ever read.
- bcbrown 10y agoMy favorite bit of wordplay in that book is when he calls Dolores Haze "dolorous and hazy".
- Fezzik 10y agoI highly recommend reading some of his other books if you enjoyed Lolita - I find them to be more complicated (in a good way) and also written magnificently. The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, Bend Sinister, Despair, 'Ada, or Ardor', Pale Fire, and Transparent Things are all personal favorites. But all of his novels are absurdly good. His short story 'Beneficence' may be may favorite piece of writing ever. He had a knack for capturing a simple occurrence, making it moving and immersive, and wrapping up his story with a poignant conclusion that I have found in very few other authors' works.
- justifier 10y ago"You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style." nabakov would agree with you my opinion is Pale Fire is the only thing even slightly worth considering reading from him i'll refrain from recommending anything in his stead due to the fear of my disliking nabakov might sully your reception of anything i recommend; instead i'll say i empathise with your experience reading in an academic setting and encourage you to keep reading and seeking what all the fuss is about in regard other authors.. you may keep finding more and more that you enjoy reading
- Fezzik 10y agoTruly curious - what do you find his writing lacking? I am always surprised when people with any literary bent do not like him (this is the first I have heard someone who has read more than Lolita say as much...). I find his story construction and prose to be second to none.
- justifier 10y agoi will admit i've yet to have read your praised 'Beneficence' but i have read a few of his other works similarly to the gp's effort to 'see what all the fuss was about' i very much disliked lolita i'm unable to speak to story construction because i only vaguely recall the structure but i can speak to my distaste for the prose i have a lot of respect for multilinguals and the fact that nabokov wrote lolita in english is commendable but it reads to me like posturing i felt it was humorless yet aggressively attempting to be funny i feel people who like it inexplicably excuse its shortcomings as intentional or representative of the narrator, and i always felt if that was the penultimate interpretation i'd rather find meaning and enrichment in work that engaged with me as a reader instead of trying to troll me while hoping i grant its assumed brilliance credence i felt it self serving while being acutely self aware; further promoting said service which is also why in my opinion the only thing even slightly worth reading by nabokov is pale fire i feel it explicitly exhibits my interpretation of nabokov as an author someone obsessed with one's own literary importance based on one's own criteria of what makes good literature