pickFirst time reading anything by Charles Kinbote (or John Shade for that matter). It‘s a shame the rapacious Nabokov took advantage of the poor biographer and poet, respectively, to pass this off as his own work. But alas! not all of us can be as benevolent as the king of Zembla.
#HumbleHarvest #Novella I read this years ago and remember loving it , couldn‘t tell you why now though. I will say not everyone loves Nabokov , this is one of his later books. Maybe a novella is the way to go to give him a try!
pickA fictionalized account of the life of the younger (by 11 months) brother of Vladimir Nabokov, a gay man who traveled through the high-art circles of 1920s and '30s Berlin and Paris. Unfortunately he did not survive the '40s, dying in a Nazi camp in 1945, two months before liberation. I love books about the supporting characters in historically important people's lives, and this one is excellent.
November bookclub choice by my friend Leigh. Starts with forward by an unreliable narrator Charles Kinbote, then a 999 line poem by fictional poet John Shade, who has died, in which he reveals his life, followed by commentary & annotations of Shades poem by Kinbote that offer more proof of his unreliable narration. This is known as Nabokov's most popular book, I am enjoying it immensely.
**Half way through changed my mind, finding it tedious.
A series of essays regarding the evolution on the cover designs on Nabokov‘s Lolita, including an entire section of concept covers from various graphic designers. The essays were ok, I have to admit they got a little bit repetitive, but it was worth it to see the concept art. The ones pictured are my faves.
A leftover from Sept but still a few points for the #scarathalon #batbrigade @Catsandbooks
pickThis ended up being a few true crimes stories in one book about how the author of "Lolita" never wanted or was willing to admit that he gleaned most of his novel from the true story of a little girl named Sally Horner. Imcludes some insight from people close to Sally that were still alive to meet with the author. Very interesting, if not a little dry.
Here I am with another depressing article. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/03/06/the-end-of-the-english-major
