NPPF From the Nabokov-List

[David Morris]

Yeah, I was just going to post this here myself.  I seem to have struck a nerve
from here all the way over to the N-List, with Dimitri rushing to his father's
defense (and with everyone gleefully repeating my typo [sic] - Childish, no?).

The N-List (but not its moderator) is dominated by worshippers who bristle at
the smallest criticism of Nabokov.  If there position was so undeniably secure
one would think a little comment posted to the PYNCHON List wouldn't cause such
a stir and would be easily ignored!  Pardon me if I don't think Nabokov is the
greatest author ever and above any reproach.  I love most of his early work up
to and including Lolita, but I have only pale admiration for Pale Fire and even
less for Ada, because both of these later works fail to make me "care" (and
we've discussed what this means before) much about their main characters.  The
puzzle of Pale Fire keeps me interested up to a degree, but the wildly rich and
intellectually superior characters of Van & Ada leave me cold, despite their
mastery and play with language.  And if, as I suspect, Ada contains a puzzle
similar to that in Pale Fire, the length of the book discourages me from trying
to solve it (which wouldn't be the case if the story had been more compelling).



--- sZ <keithsz at concentric.net> wrote:
> >From Dmitri Nabokov
> Sent: Sunday, September 14, 2003 9:33 AM
> 
> I know we shall all be grateful to David Morris for finally unmasking VN as
> a liguistic [sic] showoff. I, personally, would be grateful if he would
> illustrate his vision with a few specific instances. That would help me read
> my father with a new perspective, and finally give me insight into locutions
> whose meaning, it seems, has escaped me ever since, when I was  fourteen, he
> first gave me a novel of his to read. It was Bend Sinister and, naïvely, I
> thought I understood most of it, partly because I was then studying
> Shakespeare. When I was stumped, he was always ready to expain, but, since
> Mr. Morris has at last established that Father was little more than a
> nacissistic nobody, I see now why he never once owned up to having said
> something for the sake of showing off.  Live and learn. While he's at it,
> Mr. Morris might clarify his assessment of "so many quotes" from VN.
> 
> With utmost respect for such perspicacity,
> 
> Dmitri Nabokov
> 


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