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Vladimir Nabokov: Look at the Harlequins!
- Thread starter Gem
- Start date
StillILearn
New Member
Dagmara's lovely little parting gift? Surprised the heck out of me!
And this was a man who began his sentences with the words "And whither" and who was picking whortleberries. I was already growing fond of him and he'd only been onstage for barely a minute.
And this was a man who began his sentences with the words "And whither" and who was picking whortleberries. I was already growing fond of him and he'd only been onstage for barely a minute.
pontalba
Well-Known Member
If only he had not been a Red Army soldier guarding the border. But I appreciated the balance Nabokov made between the "Mongol face", denoting perhaps (possible) barbarity and his genteel and whimsical speech.
VN had enough experience with the Red Army to know that no matter how harmless the soldier may have appeared, he was a soldier first doing a soldier's job.
VN had enough experience with the Red Army to know that no matter how harmless the soldier may have appeared, he was a soldier first doing a soldier's job.
Peder
Well-Known Member
Hey, wait for me! All I see is a cloud of dust where everybody gunned their engines and raced out of sight over the hill. 
But, heh, heh, I know a shortcut, so I shall get off my motorbike, mount my trusty steed and catch you all at the next turn.
I am always amazed at VN's use of detail upon detail in constructing his scenes and his stories. From this one it will be impossibly difficult to forget his description of his grand-aunt pronouncing her admonition for him to "Look at the harlequins!"
He is a master with the pen, and he makes his artistry seem so effortless.
Peder
But, heh, heh, I know a shortcut, so I shall get off my motorbike, mount my trusty steed and catch you all at the next turn.
I am always amazed at VN's use of detail upon detail in constructing his scenes and his stories. From this one it will be impossibly difficult to forget his description of his grand-aunt pronouncing her admonition for him to "Look at the harlequins!"
I doubt that any of us can know exactly how she sounded, based on that description, or how she sounded to Nabokov. But each of us can wonder, and supply our own thought, about how that "har" sounded, or even try it out any number of different ways, until we find the intonation and pronunciation we like. Those four words, and VN's pause to say that they were unusual, stop us also in our tracks, and cause us to focus on them, perhaps to try to imagine the grand-aunt, or perhaps even to imagine a bit of our own role playing, as we try to put the scene together in our minds and say those words. And, finally, they can draw us right into the printed page and make us a personal part of the story at that very moment, especially if we are so inclined and allow them to.
He is a master with the pen, and he makes his artistry seem so effortless.
Peder
Peder
Well-Known Member
And shades of some other eventful encounters in the woods in Glory as well.pontalba said:What I love are all the allusions to Nabokov's characters in other books. I finally gave up marking them, as they are so numerous.
Right above the small diamonds, there is a lovely quote..Shades of Humbert's Chum!
pontalba
Well-Known Member
He uses himself for the age of escaping the Bolshevist revolution, Humberts "Sanatorium"Peder said:
, the "fairy-tale path winding through a great forest" from Martin (Glory), "Dagmara's lovely little revolver" (Chum HH), "my beautiful and bizarre mother" from TRLSK, and then to top it off Count Starov, probably a stand in for Uncle Ruka all in such swift succession, its enough to make my head spin! Fasten your seatbelts y'all, its going to be a bumpy ride!
StillILearn
New Member
I hear ya, Peder.
I can't tell you how helpful this is going to be to me
StillILearn
New Member
And I intend to use this one. A lot.
Peder
Well-Known Member
Capital idea, SIL!StillILearn said:And I intend to use this one. A lot.
For me too.
When I first read about the swivel cell in his brain not working, I thought to myself, "Now there's a twist!" /Groan. Oh noooooooooooooo!/
But. actually, I really did stop in amazement: "Who, but Nabokov .....?"
He is inventive in the most unexpected ways, and with such a dead-pan delivery! He really tickles the humor cell in my brain.
I wonder if he liked Jack Benny?
Peder
StillILearn
New Member
Heavenly days, that man could write. And punctuate (or not.) Where on earth does one learn how to do what Nabokov did in a single lifetime?
Peder
Well-Known Member
SIL,StillILearn said:
You certainly point to one of the amazing things about his writing and wonder well "where did it come from?"
I can't answer that one at all, but I myself have always had the awed impression that he also did his wizardry quite rapidly. He was very prolific, with other written and translated output at least equivalent to his numerous novels in total output. Somewhere, someone has counted up his works and they are much more numerous than 'just' his 17 novels. Seventeen novels! And I think Lolita, the star of them all, may have taken only about two years. I say 'only' without any real idea of whether that is fast or slow, but it strikes me as quite rapid, given all the detailed imagery and intricately intertwined structure that it contains, not to mention the perfectly chosen words and phrases that create the innumerable scenes and the unforgettable characters and their amazing activities. Separately I have gained the impression that he worked continually, and devoted himself assiduously to his craft, which would be a necessary component for his profuse output. But wherefrom his style and his genius? One just shakes one's head.
Peder
PS As an afterthought, one might of course read his own version of where he came from, so to speak, in Speak, Memory, his own autobiography. Brain Boyd has called that the most artistic autobiography ever written, comparing it to the greatest autobiographies ever written, by Augustine, Henry Adams, Rousseau and Tolstoy. And having just finished it, I easily agree with his further assessment that it is a masterpiece as great as Nabokov's greatest novels. It is dazzling and overwhelming and Nabokov, the man himself, is far more memorable even than any of the already unforgettable characters he has written in any of his novels.
But that's another story,
P.
pontalba
Well-Known Member
Hi SIL!
Hah! Where indeed. Seems to me that one has to be born with the seed of talent, and then it must be encouraged, as his mother encouraged him all along in his youth. If either part of the equation is missing.....nada.
Vadim's childhood is/was so different to VN's, inverted and reversed, as is most of Harlequins!.
Peder
I read somewhere (can't remember which reference) that VN first of all "built" the story in his head, and by the time he was ready to put it to paper, he knew exactly what, where, who and how of the story.
Hah! Where indeed. Seems to me that one has to be born with the seed of talent, and then it must be encouraged, as his mother encouraged him all along in his youth. If either part of the equation is missing.....nada.
Vadim's childhood is/was so different to VN's, inverted and reversed, as is most of Harlequins!.
Peder
I read somewhere (can't remember which reference) that VN first of all "built" the story in his head, and by the time he was ready to put it to paper, he knew exactly what, where, who and how of the story.
Peder
Well-Known Member
Pontalba,pontalba said:
Now that you mention, yes he did say exactly that! In fact, at the time it reminded me of a colleague of mine who used to write mathematical books, full of difficult equations and so on, who said exactly the same thing. Moreover he typed his own drafts
, but always said that before he ever typed word one of page one, he had it all straight in his mind, otherwise he would not start typing.Peder
StillILearn
New Member
I just saw this! Omigod! I have been guilty of this very thing, and he is absolutely right. And you can never, ever undo the harm.
Peder
Well-Known Member
Oh SIL, our SIL,StillILearn said:
I hope, please that you don't take it that seriously (unless you are kidding?). Please remember that you are the author of the one all-time amazingly outstanding and perfect post here that SFG said should be the first to go into a B&R Hall of Fame for posts, if there were ever to be one. A judgment in which I totally and completely agree. You are more than perfect as far as I am concerned, and IMO that is only Nabokov's opinion and the way he did it. (And just possibly stated in a deliberately outrageous manner to spark the interviewer.) As far as I have seen, every genius does it their own way and every person of talent should do it their own way, just as in fact I believe every person should live their life their own way. But returning to the geniuses and people with talent, like you [!], unless one does it their own way their is nothing new created, nothing to be called genius, nothing new to be marveled at. So please don't be daunted by Nabokov. Just consider him a challenge to find a way to do it your way. (Frank Sinatra would agree, too
And also Billy(?) in Carousel, I think: "When you walk through a cloud, hold your head up high, and don't be afraid of the storm...")So Julie Jordan, er SIL
Be yourself,
Peder
pontalba
Well-Known Member
As far as I know, Nabokov was only referring to his rough drafts, as we know from Sebastian Knight and some other remarks in I think Boyd's bio Nabokov did not want any of his rough drafts to survive.
In fact there is a sort of controversy over the transcript of VN's last unfinished work The Original of Laura that was not destroyed according to VN's wishes.
SIL Didn't you mean some of your rough drafts? Because you do write beautifully! Have you published? If not, you should for sure.
Honestly, Strong Opinions is an absolute Hoot! And I have to say that Speak Memory really should be read adjacent to Look at the Harlequins!, plus being some of Nabokov's most beautiful writing.
And as we know, that is saying a Lot!
In fact there is a sort of controversy over the transcript of VN's last unfinished work The Original of Laura that was not destroyed according to VN's wishes.
SIL Didn't you mean some of your rough drafts? Because you do write beautifully! Have you published? If not, you should for sure.
Honestly, Strong Opinions is an absolute Hoot! And I have to say that Speak Memory really should be read adjacent to Look at the Harlequins!, plus being some of Nabokov's most beautiful writing.
And as we know, that is saying a Lot!
StillILearn
New Member
As always, Peder, you are the soul of infinite tact and kindliness, but I'm beginning to wonder if any aspiring writer should even read Nabokov. He just never put a single foot wrong anywhere that I have seen. I mean, perfection can be lived with, but endlessly creative perfection?
A simple defense is for one to not allow anybody else to read anything one has written until one is stone-cold dead (this is actually beginning to sound like an excellent plan to me) and after all, others have pulled that one off flawlessly, haven't they?
And, his punctuation, my dears, only consider his punctuation! (I have just spent twenty minutes inserting and removing one single comma.)
I do have Speak Memory, and it has just way moved up in my TBR pile.
StillILearn
New Member
hehe, okay, pontalba, one of these days here I'm going to dredge up my dung beetles, give them a quick scrubbing off, and then get you all to help me make them look palatable (so to speak.) The way they are now, they threaten to be an eternal embarrassment to me. It'll be an excellent exercise in humility (albeit that is the one thing I hardly need at present.)