Hey so I started reading Nabokov because of this forum.

[NAD]

Some discussion about Pale Fire caused me to ask Santa for it in 2004, and then finally a few months ago I read it. Now I'm about to finish Pnin and it's great.

I know I'm not catching all the literary references, but what I'm enjoying most is his ability to describe something in everyday life taken completely for granted, and really bringing home the whole magic of something like plucking a nosehair.

Anyhow, where do I go from here?

 

[frost_giant]

I started reading the book about returning eyesight, like, 2 years ago or something... It really annoyed, but I think I am going to grab some of my free time this summer and use the advices given by the author in the book. But damn, does this guy make you feel like a pathetic loser eh!

 

[xfer]

that's great! this forum is finally good for something!

I'd recommend you read the (footnoted) Lolita next. not only is it his most famous (and most oft-referenced) work, but it is one of his very best as well. then I'd recommend trying out his Russian period (before he was writing books in English). Invitation to a Beheading is a good starting point there-Gnostic, reality-bending, somewhat political--and also Glory and The Real Life of Sebastian Knight.

he really is truly unbeatable prosifically.

good luck!

 

[NAD]

My mom asked me to cart her around town this weekend and in return she offered to buy me a book, think I'll make it Lolita!

Is there a specific pressing you recommend, or just any with footnotes?

 

[xfer]

I don't know enough to recommend minutiae, but "the Annotated Lolita" with footnotes and foreword by Alfred Appel Jr. is the one to go with.

 

[NAD]

Cool, will keep an eye out for that.

Read the last 20 pages of Pnin tonight, although for 15 of those I was pretty drunk so I may have to re-read tomorrow. Good stuff either way.

 

[xfer]

A cata-stroph!

 

[frost_giant]

Sorry for the nonsense, guys, I was half asleep while browsing the forums, and read 'Norbekov' instead of 'Nabokov', who is basically a Russian philospher/doctor/writer type of person. My sincere apologies.

While we're at it, I always wanted to read 'Lolita', but never got around it. I think the last time I read his books was during the early school years, and I hardly even remember the names of the works, so I suppose I should re-read everything by him again.