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Vladimir Nabokov: Lolita

SFG75

Would it be fair to say that Quilty at his worst was a better option for Lo than H.H. at his best? Yes, Quilty is not any better and he's certainly a scumbag right up there with H.H., does H. not say that they are both twins? With that being said, it's obvious that Lo preferred Quilty, though his evilness didn't uncover itself until later
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_________________

I don't think that Quilty posed the same danger that HH did. He wasn't obsessed with her. Q let her go, a thing which HH could never have done. I don't believe that HH could have ever changed his stripes either. He was deranged and evil. Q was simply evil. Of course, when I read this book for the third time, I may change my mind again. :D
 
StillILearn

Perhaps I was not clear enough. I meant what HH considered good intentions. No where in any post of mine will you find any forgivness of HH and his obsessions. Although in truth, he was abjectly sorry for them. But the problem, no matter how sorry he was..........he'd still have done it again, given the chance. So no absolution, AFAIAC

I agree with Peder's observation. I think he said Quilty = evil and HH += no good.

TO ALL

I just suggested Reading Lolita in Tehran over in the February suggestions. If you think its a good idea.........please go and vote!
 
I have an idea!

We could put Humbert Humbert on trial. Is anybody here willing to stand for his defense?

Everybody deserves a fair trial! :D
 
I just suggested Reading Lolita in Tehran over in the February suggestions. If you think its a good idea.........please go and vote!
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Excellent suggestion, pontalba! The sound you hear is StillI scampering on over to vote YES! :D
 
StillILearn said:
We could put Humbert Humbert on trial. Is anybody here willing to stand for his defense?

Everybody deserves a fair trial! :D
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StillILearn, Madam counsel,
A fair trial and then we hang'em, eh? j/k j/k but cdnt resist :rolleyes:

I hate to say this, but I am always game for a challenge. So, I'd be willing to do defense if just absolutely no one else wants to try out their slippery quotient. Doing prosecution seems too easy.

Lord knows where any defense lawyer will end up. At the bottom of the Book River probably. Maybe they should get a new logon name for one time use only, brrrr. And wear a mask while at their keyboard. :eek:

Peder
Defender of Lost Causes
 
Peder - I'm laughing! You've got me pegged. If there was any justice in this world I would be asked to do it, but I fear he wouldn't get a fair defense. You really are a brave man to volunteer for the job!

I volunteer to be a witness for the prosecution. ;)

I wuz (practically) there, your Honor!

Which Nabokov book do you recommend next, Peder? I'm a believer.

(Did you know that your mailbox is full?)
 
StillILearn said:
Peder - I'm laughing! You've got me pegged. If there was any justice in this world I would be asked to do it, but I fear he wouldn't get a fair defense. You really are a brave man to volunteer for the job!

I volunteer to be a witness for the prosecution. ;)

I wuz (practically) there, your Honor!

Which Nabokov book do you recommend next, Peder? I'm a believer.

(Did you know that your mailbox is full?)
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StillILearn,
Now there's some room in the mailbox.

Re Nabokov, I've only read
Pale Fire
Pnin
Lolita
If you like the detective work of figuring out his layered stories, then read Pale Fire, which seens to have the status of a cult classic among Nabokovians. Many people also call it his best.

If you'd like a gentler tale, then read Pnin, which reads more straight-forwardly and sounds a lot like a not-so-fictionalized Nabokov himself.

But if you'd like to learn a lot about the actual Nabokov, then I would suggest the very readable and informative biography of his wife: Vera, by Stacy Shiff. It is a biography of her, really, but since they were inseparable throughout a long happy marriage quite a bit of him appears also. It's a great read covering their entire lives.

If you do go for Pale Fire, then there is a collateral book by Brian Boyd, Pale Fire, the Magic of Artistic Discovery, which has mind bending unraveling of allusions by Boyd, that you never even imagined possible (and which title I think I gave wrong someplace else). It is a serious book and it is exclusively on Pale Fire.

In addition, which I haven't read though, there are Boyd's authoritative biography of Nabokov, and Nabokov's own autobiography Speak Memory, which I have just purchased. And there is another older(?) biography, but I forget the author.

And I don't know anything at all about any of the other novels.

But there is an enormous amount of general information on the Web.

And as you are doing here, it is great to hook up with a forum discussion. or even just read an archived discussion.

I would actually suggest Vera for a very heartwarming story.

Peder
 
StillILearn,
Anyway, what's so brave? Innocence will prevail! :)

Peder
Confident Defender of Lost Causes
 
A quick question:

Have any of you read the Brian Boyd books on Nabokov? I am about to re-read Lolita, and what I like to do is read a biography of someone and read a book they have written at the same time. My library has the Boyd books but not the Shiff one (thanks Peder). Are they any good?
:)
 
I see the Press has not arrived yet. Oh, well. :cool: This morning, over coffee, I started wondering how one would put up a defense for Humbert. Two things became clear. First, the prosecution doesn't stand a chance! heh heh hehhhh. :p Second, a trial could become such a long all encompassing affair that I suggest we not get wrapped around it but also continue normal discussion as well, unless everyone is going to get swept up in this Trial of the Century. In any event, I think we should constrain it somehow with reasonable guidelines so that it does not in fact last into the next Century or freeze everything and everyone else out of the discussion. :)
Peder
 
CDA said:
Have any of you read the Brian Boyd books on Nabokov? I am about to re-read Lolita, and what I like to do is read a biography of someone and read a book they have written at the same time. My library has the Boyd books but not the Shiff one (thanks Peder). Are they any good?
:)
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CDA,
From what I have read in another forum the Boyd biography is/are excellent. They seem to be the authoritative reference biography for Nabokov. But I too would be glad to hear other members' thoughts.
Peder
 
Still searching for the "robust Turk" remark. The Annotated copy I ordered was to have arrived yesterday........Amazon has been running late on their 'two-day' delivery times. Grrrrrrr.......

Wheres that tea?..................as she fumbles with the kettle......
 
Have any of you read the Brian Boyd books on Nabokov? I am about to re-read Lolita, and what I like to do is read a biography of someone and read a book they have written at the same time.
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I like to do that too, CDA. It really does add to the experience. :)
 
I'm hoping it will help me find certain passages and tie things together in a more orderly fashion. Plus, I don't speak French. I know I've missed out with that!
 
StillILearn said:
Peder, you are wonderful. ;)
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/Blushes furiously/
Stop that, Sil! I'm ticklish!
And anyway you are supposed to be sitting over there at your own table prosecuting me, er my defendant, and not over here, well, you know ....And you're messing my papers up completely, not to mention my composure. Is this your usual way of opening a trial? I can have you defrocked for this! There are only certain things we defense lawyers can defend aginst and one of them definitely is not wily articles.

Now where were we?
/straightens tie/
/but with a silly smile/ :)
Peder
 
I can see we definitely are going to have to constrain things around here a little. :eek:
Where on Earth did all that come from? :confused:
 
I've not read Lolita yet, although I'm now feeling inspired, but wanted to take the opportunity to congratulate people on an interesting discussion.

Bonus points to Peder for a stylish, and all too infrequent, use of the word Egad.

Gadzooks and other such sayings,

K-S
 
Kenny You are right! This is the best discussion! Last year I participated in another discussion of Lolita, and while the moderator was just marvelous :) , there were not enough participants to really dig as deeply as we are managing this time. Plus, as always, upon second or third reading, I just "got' more.

Now will the prosceuting and defense attorneys please proceed!:D
 
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