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I'm reading Lolita.

story said:
Well I'd say that the novel Lolita is neither evidence, nor a reason, nor even a valid argument.

It is a work of fiction.

I wouldn't want any legislative change to be based on a work of fiction, however fine that work might be.
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Nor me. Sorry forget I spoke.
 
story said:
I wouldn't want any legislative change to be based on a work of fiction, however fine that work might be.
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That's the Terrorism Acts passim, the Criminal Justice Act 1994, the Broadcasting Act 1990, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984... all done for!
 
Shippou-Chan said:
today's post brought to you by the letters j and c and the number 2
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BeavisButthead.jpg

"He said 'number two'. Heh heh....
 
laptop said:
That's the Terrorism Acts passim, the Criminal Justice Act 1994, the Broadcasting Act 1990, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984... all done for!
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Heh...

Just because we have a precedent doesn't make it any more acceptable.
 
My god, I just finished this novel earlier today. I have never felt quite so intoxicated on words before as I did whilst reading Lolita ('the God of Small Things' come closes for me, mind you). How does one person wring that much meaning out of the very sounds of a language as does Nabokov (and one that isn't even his first)??? Makes me tongue-tied even to think about it. I've never read anything that felt so much like listening to music as I have his prose. I hope his other novels in English are just as musical. And how wonderfully told a tale, how horribly human a narrator. To play with your sympathies even while you condone the worst of human nature is the mark of a man who knows his art. Will set it aside for a good chunk of time and look forward to whatever riches it affords on second-reading. Yum!
 
I'm reading this at the moment. It's very very good, although the flowery language does distract and confuse me somewhat. I tend to forget what i've read, or wonder if I am misinterpreting things. Perhaps this is the point though right, what with humbert being such a trickster? I havn't quite finished it yet but in parts it's confusing and I find myself having to refer back quite alot.

I don't find myself feeling anything other than indifference to any of the characters, in that I find all of them fairly repugnant as they are written and I seem to be lacking the sympathy that others have decribed. I'm not finding H.H's recollections very convincing, the guy is clerly a crafty dellusional andwhen he talks about lolita being "moody" or however I just end up thinking "oh really? I wonder why?

Again, kind of the point I guess but I havn't finishhed it yet.
 
FabricLiveBaby! said:
I'm reading this at the moment. It's very very good, although the flowery language does distract and confuse me somewhat. I tend to forget what i've read, or wonder if I am misinterpreting things. Perhaps this is the point though right, what with humbert being such a trickster? I havn't quite finished it yet but in parts it's confusing and I find myself having to refer back quite alot.

I don't find myself feeling anything other than indifference to any of the characters, in that I find all of them fairly repugnant as they are written and I seem to be lacking the sympathy that others have decribed. I'm not finding H.H's recollections very convincing, the guy is clerly a crafty dellusional andwhen he talks about lolita being "moody" or however I just end up thinking "oh really? I wonder why?

Again, kind of the point I guess but I havn't finishhed it yet.
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What you have to keep in mind is that Humbert Humbert is probably the ultimate unreliable narrator. This is a story told from his point of view, and he deploys various methods to get the reader on side and gain sympathy for his actions.

You are right about all the characters seeming repugnant. Maybe that again is a reflection of H.H's interpretation of them, that he can only see them through his own vileness.

Nabakov is a true master of writing. Lolita is one of the best books I have ever read.
 
lontok2005 said:
My god, I just finished this novel earlier today. I have never felt quite so intoxicated on words before as I did whilst reading Lolita ('the God of Small Things' come closes for me, mind you). How does one person wring that much meaning out of the very sounds of a language as does Nabokov (and one that isn't even his first)??? Makes me tongue-tied even to think about it. I've never read anything that felt so much like listening to music as I have his prose. I hope his other novels in English are just as musical. And how wonderfully told a tale, how horribly human a narrator. To play with your sympathies even while you condone the worst of human nature is the mark of a man who knows his art. Will set it aside for a good chunk of time and look forward to whatever riches it affords on second-reading. Yum!
Click to expand...

Excellent excellent post.

:cool:
 
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