Vladimir Nabokov: Lolita

[steffee]

Hi, all,
The scene out the window here is almost all whited out now, with our first real and very late snow of Winter. It's time to get warm and comfortable with a book, and put another log on the fire. Except I don't have a fireplace. :-(
But there is this for a pleasant reverie of Lolita, from VN himself, a year after publication, (p316 TAL)

And they pull at my heart-strings and make me want to reread it yet again,
Enjoy the day!
Peder

Snow, lucky you!! It's raining here, just for a change, LOL!

Lovely quote there, it's making me want to reread Lolita too. Having now finished Ada and The Enchanter, Lolita remains my favourite. Maybe the discussion adds to the enjoyment of a book... maybe your first experience of Nabokov is always going to the the most memorable. Or maybe I just rushed the other two.

 

[Peder]

Snow, lucky you!! It's raining here, just for a change, LOL!

Lovely quote there, it's making me want to reread Lolita too. Having now finished Ada and The Enchanter, Lolita remains my favourite. Maybe the discussion adds to the enjoyment of a book... maybe your first experience of Nabokov is always going to the the most memorable. Or maybe I just rushed the other two.

Steffee, Hi!
There is something about the first flash of brilliance that one encounters that stands out in one's memory. No doubt about it! Which is why I tend to be less than enthusiastic about sequels. Rare is the sequel that recaptures the lustre of the first time encounter, for me anyway. But Lolita is far and away his most popular work and it is justly regarded as one of the great novels of the twentieth century, so its appeal for you is far from accidental. His other works are hardly known by anyone outside his circle of admirers. But they do have the virue of all being different, from what I have seen so far, so they can be read for their own enjoyment, instead of as knock-off's or sequels from Lolita. I'm more than impressed that you have finished Ada, whether rushed or not. And I am of course dying of curiosity for what you might have to say about Enchanter, but I won't say that.
Very glad that you enjoyed Lolita. You are now one of a huge circle of her admirers.

Enjoy the rain
It looks like we have now settled out at about a foot of snow
Peder

 

[StillILearn]

The scene out the window here is almost all whited out now, with our first real and very late snow of Winter. It's time to get warm and comfortable with a book, and put another log on the fire. Except I don't have a fireplace.

Maybe you should cut back on the yuletide log-burning until you can get a fireplace installed? You don't want to burn the place down, especially with all those expensive new books in there!

 

[pontalba]

And its a foine, foine mornin' here clear as a bell, and presently 37 degrees F. It went down to 30 degrees last night, and will be a bit colder tonight...brrrr... No snow yet! But we go years between any dusting of snow anyhow.

Oh Peder, you make me want to go back as well to Lolita. I'll have to eventually, but for now Pnin, poor little Pnin is my concentration. He is such a sweet little man. So confused. No conniving (so far anyhow) in this fella.

And Steffee! I can't believe you finished Ada already. Wonderful! Oh, I can't wait!

SIL Good to see you back in these parts! We'll just have to have the fireplace installed for Peder while he goes out for coffee one afternoon!

Lolita is indeed the most heart wrenching and intricate of VN's so far. /sigh/

 

[Peder]

Lovely, Peder. Thank you for that quote. How can I stay mad at a man who writes things like that?

Maybe it was just Vera who I was beginning to dislike. Did you get the feeling that Stacy Schiff actually liked her?

Still,
Well I certainly hope you don't stay angry at Nabokov the author. In fact you make a very good point! It is writing like that which can separate Nabokov, the author, from Nabokov, the man, in one's estimation.

Your second observation and question is more difficult. I think that maybe Stacy Shiff was more of a romantic who admired those aspects of their lives: his success, their love, her adoration, his adoration, their intellectual liveliness, their one-ness, their exclusive circle of friends, and so on. Those are the things that stand out to me when I think back. And, looking at the picture of the two of them playing chess on the cover of my book, that picture shows their serenity in each other even as they challenged each other intellectually. It is a perfectly wonderful picture as I look at it.

I have the feeling that Stacy Shiff was as completely swept away as I was when Vera walked up to Vladimir, emerging out of the dark mists on the bridge that night (wearing a mask, do I remember?), reciting his poetry to him from memory. There had to be something special come from that! And that is what I think she saw. I think she admired them in the large, so to speak, even if there were things she didn't admire in particular. But she wasn't out to do a hatchet job and I think she wrote about them admirably dispassionately with a wonderful and sympathetic sense of humor.

The explanation, for example, of why VN could not be promoted to head of the Russian Department at Cornell was hilarious. He had worked for two years for an academic department that didn't exist! How, how ironic that he of all people should find himself in a truly Nabokovian situation and be unaware of it. Plus the scene of Vera asking her friend to read Lolita but by all means to keep the manuscript away from her young son! And I think Shiff admired a woman who was given her lead and made such effective use of it! Keeping the entire publishing world at bay and at her feet. (And her husband under control.)

But these are mostly my projections of my own feelings about the book and its characters, and I have difficulty separating them from what Shiff's attitudes might have been. That would take a reread Even if I were able to do it, which I doubt.

In terms of what can a woman accomplish, in the world and with her life, here is as good a story as I know. I think they were both successful in their own terms far beyond our ability to imagine. And that I can only admire. Just think! He discovered not a new butterfly, but six new varieties of butterfly! That had to fill him with tremendous pride and sense of accomplishment. And when she saw him the center of attention in a reception or a party, I am sure she felt with justifiable pride "That is the success that I helped make!" How do we measure our own accomplishments, and how do we count their number? I think Vera and her husband beat us all!

But, sorry that I can't answer your question
Peder

 

[Peder]

Maybe you should cut back on the yuletide log-burning until you can get a fireplace installed? You don't want to burn the place down, especially with all those expensive new books in there!

Still,
Actually, I am using the fireproof paper that some scenes from Enchanter were printed on, to contain the balze and protect the floor. If they can't hold it nothing will.

Peder

 

[StillILearn]

Still,
Actually, I am using the fireproof paper that some scenes from Enchanter were printed on, to contain the balze and protect the floor. If they can't hold it nothing will.

Peder

That's our Peder. He's not only a romantic, but he's pragmatic as well.

 

[SFG75]

That's our Peder. He's not only a romantic, but he's pragmatic as well.

And he's famous!. If all of you remember, he had an avatar where he wore a black turtleneck with his hand under his chin in a pensive, yet bemused pose. He took it down and I know why!. He is really the famous writer Peter Akroyd!. See for yourself.

You have been unmasked Peder.....or should I say Peter!!?.


Sincerely yours,

Capt. SFG, Lead detective

 

[StillILearn]

SIL Good to see you back in these parts! We'll just have to have the fireplace installed for Peder while he goes out for coffee one afternoon! /

New shelves for you, new fireplace for Peder -- have we called the poorhouse about our reservations yet?

 

[pontalba]

New shelves for you, new fireplace for Peder -- have we called the poorhouse about our reservations yet?

OK, whats on your list? LOL "The Complete Nabokov".......

I shall take a Nabokovian view of the said reservations.....in other words.....ignore them!

 

[StillILearn]

And he's famous!. If all of you remember, he had an avatar where he wore a black turtleneck with his hand under his chin in a pensive, yet bemused pose. He took it down and I know why!. He is really the famous writer Peter Akroyd!. See for yourself.

You have been unmasked Peder.....or should I say Peter!!?.


Sincerely yours,

Capt. SFG, Lead detective

Hot damn, Capt. SFG. I knew we were keeping you on a retainer for some reason!

 

[SFG75]

Hot damn, Capt. SFG. I knew we were keeping you on a retainer for some reason!

And our famous leader has yet to post. I vonder vy? Oy voy!.

 

[Peder]

And he's famous!. If all of you remember, he had an avatar where he wore a black turtleneck with his hand under his chin in a pensive, yet bemused pose. He took it down and I know why!. He is really the famous writer Peter Akroyd!. See for yourself.

You have been unmasked Peder.....or should I say Peter!!?.


Sincerely yours,

Capt. SFG, Lead detective

LOL SFG

Pretty close! Pretty close indeed!
But naw. I'd be lucky to be Peter Rabbbit.
Keep trying!

Peder

I'll have to fish out that picture and get it into a photo bucket somewhere. Then we can do a comparison and you'll see that I am really much more handsome. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.
Especially as Lucy once said, if you close one eye, squint the other, tip your head sideways, turn sort of away, and look out the corner of your eye,.... then maybe.
P.

 

[StillILearn]

And our famous leader has yet to post. I vonder vy? Oy voy!.

I happen to know for a fact that Peder's a famous astronaut.

 

[pontalba]

SIL
Regarding VN and his brother, Sergi. The objection VN seems to have had was that Sergi converted to Catholism. I think that upset him (VN) more than anything else. I'd have to do some independant research, but Schiff mentions it.

 

[StillILearn]

SIL
Regarding VN and his brother, Sergi. The objection VN seems to have had was that Sergi converted to Catholism. I think that upset him (VN) more than anything else. I'd have to do some independant research, but Schiff mentions it.

And I'm thinking that the same is true of Vera and her sister. Let me do some research.

I'm also thinking that maybe religious intolerance does more harm on this planet than intolerance of sexual preference does -- and that's a lot!

 

[pontalba]

SIL
Yes, Lena gave up on being a Jew because she saw how a good number of Russian emigres acted in Germany at the beginning of Hitler. IOW, they caved and turned on their own. She cannot be blamed for being cynical to a great extent IMO, but to allow the rift with her family is just self-defeating. I am pretty sure she converted to Catholicism as well.

And yes you are right about the intolerance. Talk about self-defeating!

 

[Peder]

Back by popular demand!

And he's famous!. If all of you remember, he had an avatar where he wore a black turtleneck with his hand under his chin in a pensive, yet bemused pose. He took it down and I know why!. He is really the famous writer Peter Akroyd!. See for yourself.

You have been unmasked Peder.....or should I say Peter!!?.

SFG,
No, not unmasked yet.
I still have my happy and contented mask on, but I can glower like him if I have to.
I just got tired of staring at my face and am looking for a different avatar altogether, but without much success so far.
Anyway here you can compare the author and the poster. Both are enough to scare children and make them eat their oatmeal!
Bigger version at Profile in case anyone is really interested. But I don't encourage it.
Peder

 

[StillILearn]

SFG,
No, not unmasked yet.
I still have my happy and contented mask on, but I can glower like him if I have to.
I just got tired of staring at my face and am looking for a different avatar altogether, but without much success so far.
Anyway here you can compare the author and the poster. Both are enough to scare children and make them eat their oatmeal!
Bigger version at Profile in case anyone is really interested. But I don't encourage it.
Peder

I'm glad to have your avatar face back, Peder. But holey moley, Peteman, I can see why SFG was confused!

 

[Peder]

I'm glad to have your avatar face back, Peder. But holey moley, Peteman, I can see why SFG was confused!

Still,
Yes, even I can see the resemblance! But I sure hope I never look as stern as the other guy does. He could even scare them into eating their veggies as welll as their oatmeal!

Peder