I just started reading Lolita and jesus fuck this book is so uncomfortable which I get is the point. I see why it's a classic and the prose is amazing but I hesitate to call it a "good" or a "beautiful" book. The best word I could use is "effective." It mobilizes its prose to get the reader deep into the mind of this horrible man to see how he rationalizes his repugnant behavior, but it's so successful in doing so that it makes me want to vomit. A close friend and another woman recommended it to me, both saying it was their favourite book, and I'm not sure what that says about them or about me. I guess I can't appreciate "difficult" novels in the way some people can.
oof sounds rough. he's a talented writer so i can imagine how effective it must be. i just started pale fire, also by nabokov, and the prose is a thing of beauty. not so problematic as what you're reading—though, really, what could be? it's a novel, laid out as a poem, with the poet dead before publication. also provided are extensive notes and commentary by a friend. there's much more to it but i'll stop there. it gets very interesting. full of humor and the prose is very often dazzling. might be worth checking out if lolita doesn't sit right with you but you enjoy the writing, provided well-executed metafictional nonsense appeals to you (i'm finding out that it very much appeals to me!)
I just started reading Lolita and jesus fuck this book is so uncomfortable which I get is the point. I see why it's a classic and the prose is amazing but I hesitate to call it a "good" or a "beautiful" book. The best word I could use is "effective." It mobilizes its prose to get the reader deep into the mind of this horrible man to see how he rationalizes his repugnant behavior, but it's so successful in doing so that it makes me want to vomit. A close friend and another woman recommended it to me, both saying it was their favourite book, and I'm not sure what that says about them or about me. I guess I can't appreciate "difficult" novels in the way some people can.
oof sounds rough. he's a talented writer so i can imagine how effective it must be. i just started pale fire, also by nabokov, and the prose is a thing of beauty. not so problematic as what you're reading—though, really, what could be? it's a novel, laid out as a poem, with the poet dead before publication. also provided are extensive notes and commentary by a friend. there's much more to it but i'll stop there. it gets very interesting. full of humor and the prose is very often dazzling. might be worth checking out if lolita doesn't sit right with you but you enjoy the writing, provided well-executed metafictional nonsense appeals to you (i'm finding out that it very much appeals to me!)