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Vladimir Nabokov: Lolita

Peder said:
Given the interest in Vera, I was wondering whether the women here caught the precise meaning of her dry comment "That's precisely why I am here."? It took a while for it to sink in with me. :eek:
Peder
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Now I am more than a little impatient to learn more about Vera. If she was indeed the power behind the throne, well, I mean. :eek:
 
StillILearn You presume wrong, I had not seen the interview with Stacey Schiff. But this is my favorite quote out of the whole thing:
STACY SCHIFF: That was the beauty for me of putting together the book and prying apart the marriage. There is an enormous amount of mutual leg pulling of trying to fit difference masks on to different faces, of trying to project some kind of illusions to the world. Finding out what was really underneath all of that was not always easy, but it was greatly gratifying.
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Illusions. They were perfectly matched. :)


StillILearn said:
Looks (and sounds) a lot like pontalba, probably.
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Yeah, riiigghhtttt......lets all keep that thought alive in our sub-conscious! :rolleyes:
 
Peder said:
Given the interest in Vera, I was wondering whether the women here caught the precise meaning of her dry comment "That's precisely why I am here."? It took a while for it to sink in with me. :eek:
Peder
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Hah! It took perhaps a nano second (otherwise known as a NY second) to sink in. Vera was nothing if not protective. Of him and her turf.

The line in the sand. Honey Chile....:p
 
pontalba said:
StillILearn You presume wrong, I had not seen the interview with Stacey Schiff. But this is my favorite quote out of the whole thing:


Illusions. They were perfectly matched. :)


StillILearn said:


Yeah, riiigghhtttt......lets all keep that thought alive in our sub-conscious! :rolleyes:
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Finding out more about Vera's participitation in Nabokov's writing really does appeal to me. Also, the Galatea avatar perfectly fits my mental image of you, pontalba. Ava was a suthren gal too! :D
 
StillILearn said:
Everyone here has already read this, presumably?

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/gergen/jan-june00/schiff_4-11.html :)
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StillILearn,
Wonderful interview! But so short!

And the most wonderful phrase: "the great appreciator."

That she definitely was, and so much more.

And the comedy-without-words of the two of them in the classroom is barely hinted by Stacy Shiff in that brief interview. But priceless in the reading.

She was truly an amazing woman, he an amazing genius, and their's an amazing marriage.

Peder
 
pontalba said:
The line in the sand. Honey Chile....:p
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Right on, Pontalba!

He was immensely charming to women, and I don't think she was taking any chances that for whatever reason, however legitimate, he might appear there with someone else on his arm. And she knew it!

Actually, as an addon to the story he had actually toyed with the notion of hiring a child escort for the occasion, :) but better sense prevailed over his sense of humor. That would really have turned the world on its ear! :eek:

Peder
 
Peder said:
Right on, Pontalba!

Actually, as an addon to the story he had actually toyed with the notion of hiring a child escort for the occasion, :) but better sense prevailed over his sense of humor. That would really have turned the world on its ear! :eek:

Peder
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Where can we read about that? :eek:
 
StillILearn said:
Where can we read about that? :eek:
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StillILearn,
It's in Vera, just below her 'unflappble' remark.
Actually the other problem with his thought is that she probably would have killed him! :D
Peder
 
Peder said:
Actually, as an addon to the story he had actually toyed with the notion of hiring a child escort for the occasion, :) but better sense prevailed over his sense of humor. That would really have turned the world on its ear! :eek:

Peder
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O M G !!
Can you imagine the reactions? :eek: She had to not only protect her turf, but his reputation. I am sure there were, and maybe still are people questioning his, um, proclivities. Ouch. At least one of them was sensible!

And you will observe please which gender was the sensible.......:D
 
The Enchanter

Peder
have you finished The Enchanter yet?

Reactions. Reactions, I want your immediate reaction to the ending. Without giving it away to SIL. She hasn't read it yet.

Right StillI?
 
pontalba said:
Peder
have you finished The Enchanter yet?

Reactions. Reactions, I want your immediate reaction to the ending. Without giving it away to SIL. She hasn't read it yet.

Right StillI?
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Pontalba,
I think you said POW!
That is the word for it! It starts at the front and goes straight and fast as an arrow to the end. And the very last six lines are like nothing I have read in literature! That VN really does endings real good! :D The girl is wonderfully written; she is so real! The narrator suffers agonies beyond belief, and he richly deserves them. And the total ending is something else again, not to mention the incredible suspense of the scene that produces it. Unforgettable!
And what a total difference from Lolita!
Neither book gives away anything about the other,
Peder
 
BTW Pontalba, StillILearn,
I love your new avatars -- all of them. :D. Have you both discovered an avatar mine someplace?
Peder
 
pontalba said:
Heh, heh, heh.......

But the echos, the echos........

Turn about, and.......echo.....
:cool:

:D
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Oh yes! Pontalba,
The echoes are definitely there, but every one is different in detail between the two books. Which is what I assume you mean by 'turn about.'? Well, maybe not so much the narrator. But the others, and the events?
Peder
 
Okay, okay, okay. Back off to amazon.com I go.

I always go in through through the Amnesty International link, so at least I have some mitigation to my guilt -- that way AI gets a small percentage every time.

(Rationalize, ratonalize, rationalize.)
 
Peder said:
Oh yes! Pontalba,
Which is what I assume you mean by 'turn about.'? Well, maybe not so much the narrator. But the others, and the events?
Peder
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The end echos another something in Lolita, the narrator of course, and the age similarities. Ohh, how can I put it so it doesn't constitute a spoiler...? Although one union is similar, it is different.

So similar, and yet so different.

:p
 
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