Peter Nabokov, anthropologist and scholar of Native American culture, is the first cousin once-removed of Vladimir Nabokov. His father is the composer Nicolas Nabokov, Vladimir's cousin.
"Rough drafts, false scents, half explored trails, dead ends of inspiration, are of little intrinsic importance. An artist should ruthlessly destroy his manuscripts after publication, lest they mislead academic mediocrities into thinking that it is possible to unravel the mysteries of genius by studying canceled readings."
Nabokov was born into a privileged Russian family, in a house with 50 servants where three languages were spoken. His childhood (brilliantly recreated in his richly evocative memoir, SPEAK, MEMORY), was idyllic, but he fled Russia at 20 after the Bolshevik revolution, losing his $2 million inheritance. He studied at Cambridge, graduating with honors, and lived for many years in a Berlin community of Russian émigrés, where his father was killed at a political rally. He began writing novels ther more...
Nabokov was born into a privileged Russian family, in a house with 50 servants where three languages were spoken. His childhood (brilliantly recreated in his richly evocative memoir, SPEAK, MEMORY), was idyllic, but he fled Russia at 20 after the Bolshevik revolution, losing his $2 million inheritance. He studied at Cambridge, graduating with honors, and lived for many years in a Berlin community of Russian émigrés, where his father was killed at a political rally. He began writing novels there, and later in Paris, where he lived with his wife Vera and their son. In 1940, the Nabokovs moved to the U.S.; he taught at Wellesley, and then became a professor of Russian literature at Cornell, where he is remembered for his colorful, idiosyncratic, and illuminating lectures. It was at Cornell that Nabokov wrote his most famous novel, LOLITA, the success of which enabled him to give up teaching and move to Switzerland, where he lived until his death. Nabokov saw his main theme as that of the writer as exile. His dazzling novels assure his place as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. He was also a beloved teacher, a more than competent lepidopterist, and a translator of many works of literature, including his own.less...
It's so amazing when a book lives up to, and even exceeds, the lofty expectations that have been thrust upon it. Such is the case with "Lolita."
Numerous scholars with far more knowledge of literature have declared this the most beautifully written book in the English language, and it would be impossible for me to argue with that assessment. There are numerous times that I found myself re-reading certain passages; sometimes, it was because the passage was so dense with allegory and figurative language that I had to parse through it, and sometimes it was just because the turn of phrase was just so beautiful, that I had to read it again and again.
What is amazing is that Nabokov is able to make Humbert Humbert, a completely repulsive human being who rapes girls, to be a figure with whom you sympathize. Not an easy feat, but one that he accomplishes with flying colors. As I read, I knew in my head that Humbert was a terrible man, but dammit I FELT BAD FOR HIM. Why?
In short, this has vaulted to the top of my all time list. I just wish that I knew French, so that I could grasp the (numerous) phrases that he writes in that language. But regardless, this is a timeless classic.
It's so amazing when a book lives up to, and even exceeds, the lofty expectations that have been thrust upon it. Such is the case with "Lolita."
Numerous scholars with far more knowledge of literature have declared this the most beautifully written book in the English language, and it would be impossible for me to argue with that assessment. There are numerous times that I found myself re-reading certain passages; sometimes, it was because the passage was so dense with allegory and figurative language that I had to parse through it, and sometimes it was just because the turn of phrase was just so beautiful, that I had to read it again and again.
What is amazing is that Nabokov is able to make Humbert Humbert, a completely repulsive human being who rapes girls, to be a figure with whom you sympathize. Not an easy feat, but one that he accomplishes with flying colors. As I read, I knew in my head that Humbert was a terrible man, but dammit I FELT BAD FOR HIM. Why?
In short, this has vaulted to the top of my all time list. I just wish that I knew French, so that I could grasp the (numerous) phrases that he writes in that language. But regardless, this is a timeless classic.