Recommendations for Nabokov readings?

Dr. Zirk

Dr. Zirk

Mystic
Other than seeing the film version of "Lolita", I haven't had much exposure to Nabokov's writings. I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations on where to start, especially for someone with Ligottian tastes. Seems like Nabokov has a large oeuvre, so I'm not sure which end of the pool to dive in - are the short stories worthwhile?
 
When I haven´t money to buy Ligotti´s books, I search for the authours who influenced him.I´ve read 3 books by Nabokov so far.Lolita, Pale Fire and Pnin.

The easiest to read is Pnin.The protagonist is a sort of an outcast as Ligotti´s protagonists (not so doomed but he is utterly alone) and the way he is treated by the others makes Pnin a very sad book, although funny in some moments.

I liked Lolita, and again the protagonist is anohter outcast but you can´t help but hate the tragic and sick Humbert Humbert...Nabokov´s eliptical and erudite prose can be difficult sometimes and Lolita is a novel with a lot of references to other books.There is an annotated version in english but I hadn´t the acess to that one (I read the brazilian translation)... is a beautifully written book.

Pale fire is unique.Is one of the most original books I´ve read.The first part is a 999 verses poem by a Poet called John Francis Shade, composed in the last 20 days of his life.The second part is the poem comentary, by his deranged neighbour called Charles Kinbote, who stole the manuscript from John´s wife and analyses the poet´s life through the poem...and then he finds in the poem relations to a fictional country called Zembla (Charles´ supposed homeland), later declaring to be the king of the country (King Charles) but, maybe he is not so mad, maybe is John Shade who is guiding him from beyond the grave, moving him into...well, is a very complex book and I will surely have to read it again but I liked it a lot.

If you like Kafka, you can read an excellent lecture made by Nabokov about the great story " The Metamorphosis"

HERE

Hope I have helped you
 
I will second Severini's recommendation for Lolita. I thought it was a wonderfully written novel. I am amazed at authors like Nabokov and Joseph Conrad who write with such skill in what is not their native language.

Severini,

Thanks for the link on Nabokov's lecture on THE METAMORPHOSIS. It has been a long time since I have read it. I guess that is one of the perks of being a famous author; you get to teach "Humanities" and pick your own subject. Elie Wiesel taught a course on Kafka too.
 
Thanks to Severini and bendk for the recommends - looks like I need to track down Lolita and give it a read. And Pale Fire sounds very intriguing...
 
While I'm waiting for Pale Fire to arrive from the library, I started in on some of the Nabokov short stories. I just read "Wingstroke" last night, and I highly recommend this story to Ligotti fans. It's a swirling little nightmare filled with madness, suicide, and a wounded angel. The use of language is spectacular - Nabokov is a real literary craftsman, and despite the crazy content, the story reads effortlessly and beautifully.

Better yet, someone in Russia has posted a complete English translation on the web:

[ame]http://moshkow.rsl.ru/koi/NABOKOW/Wingstroke.txt[/ame]

Well worth checking out...
 
About the subject of Nabokov short stories, in the same website you indicated there is an excellent short story by Nabokov called "The Vane Sisters" which he wrote in 1951...
It´s about a french literature teacher and his relationship with two sisters called Cynthia and Sybil...Sybil was a pupil of this teacher and she suicided, leaving the message on her test and...
I won´t give much of the plot, but the end of this story resembles A LOT (at least this is the impression I´ve got) "Alice´s Last Adventure"...and there is a CHILLING message in this tale...pay CLOSE attention to the narrator´s words.

Please take a look at this one at:

[ame]http://lib.novgorod.net/NABOKOW/vs.txt[/ame]
 
Good call, Severini. "The Vane Sisters" is fascinating. It would have taken me a while to get to that one, since it's towards the end of my book of Nabokov short stories, but I'm glad I skipped ahead. The narrator's observations of icicles melting in the sun at the beginning of the story are worth the price of admission alone.

Nabokov's literally craftsmanship is incredible - his use of language is truly intimidating for an amateur writer like myself (but inspiring at the same time!)
 
Hey Dr. Zirk!
Glad you enjoyed the vane sisters but ...
there is more:
take the first letter of every word in the last paragraph... and see the message...
 
I love it! Thanks for pointing that out - I would have missed that without the hint. There's even a sort of pun hidden in there. And I want to believe I detect a back-handed reference to the "eccentric librarian" Porlock, mentioned earlier in the story. In order to decipher the message, the reader has to (almost) duplicate Porlock's crazy hobby.

I love it!
 
One of my favorite short stories by Nabokov is 'The Terror.' The experiences detailed by the protagonist are similar to happenings I experience in my own daily life. There's another short story - aw crap, I forget the title, but it's about siamese twins and it's the last story in my collection of N.'s short stories.

As for novels, my favorite would have to be 'Invitation to a Beheading.' It's very similar to Kafka's 'The Castle,' but N. was not aware of K.'s story when he wrote it.

'Ada, or Ardour,' is a close second. It's a family tree of an incestuous family, beautifully written, not Ligottian, but oh, so gorgeous! Then again I enjoy reading about pervs, so it won't appeal to everyone.

P.
 
The Terror is a good one - an unusually dark story, at least from the selection of Nabokov writings I have absorbed so far. There is an almost Ligottian feel to that one, with the added element of a romantic obsession. A bleak little tale, indeed.
 
Certainly Lolita, Pale Fire, and some of the other works mentioned in this thread. For the short stories, see if you can find his hardcover collection, as it contains many of the short stories mentioned here. For the lectures, used copies are usually available in paperback form and very cheap. Take note, though, that Nabokov focuses on aesthetics and form, and from what I remember is often critical of psychological motives of characters, symbolisms, and discussions concerning morality. For example, for a discussion of Kafka's Metamorphosis or Tolstoy's Anna Karenina he would dwell more on setting, appearances, and story structure.
 
;1723 said:
There's another short story - aw crap, I forget the title, but it's about siamese twins and it's the last story in my collection of N.'s short stories.
Click to expand...
The story in question is "Scenes from the Life of a Double Monster" which I have in Nabokov's Dozen, a 1958 Popular Library reprint of his collection Spring in Fialta. One doesn't have to venture far into this story to see the probable influence on Thomas Ligotti's early writing. Stories such as "The Chymist" and "Les Fleurs" display elements of the trademark Nabokovian sense of humor and playfulness with words.

Lolita is an admittedly challenging novel, but worth all of the effort which one can expend. Stanley Kubrick's 1962 film adaptation is brilliant. But consider the fact that the screenplay was written by Mr. Nabokov himself. The film features perfect casting, with Peter Sellers, James Mason, Shelley Winters, and Sue Lyon delivering superb performances. Recommended without reservation. Jail bait for the ages!
 
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I must say that "The Terror" really surprised me with its sense of "existential dread" and it sort of puzzles me that I never see this story in any collection of horror stories. It definately gave me the sort of queasy heebie-jeebie sensation that good weird fiction provokes.
 
Sorry for the second post, but I just remembered a detail in this story that was EXTREMELY effective as an illustration of the protagonist's condition: The description of his (mother's? it's been awhile) face when he sees it upside down. It blew my mind that Nabokov could put so much alien flavor into such mundane detail...brrr
 
G. S. Carnivals said:
Lolita is an admittedly challenging novel, but worth all of the effort which one can expend. Stanley Kubrick's 1962 film adaptation is brilliant. But consider the fact that the screenplay was written by Mr. Nabokov himself.
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Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita screenplay was not filmed, however. The version which was filmed was actually written by Stanley Kubrick.
 
Pale Fire is an all time favorite of mine, I read it around the same time I discovered Borges. Not sure if it is because of this that it reminds me of Borges' fictions, but it certainly does. Surprised to see that no one has brought up Bend Sinister...worth a look. I've never read any of N.'s short stories, but after reading these posts, I believe I'll head down to the library today and see what I can find.
 
Thank you for the correction, Rover. Since Errata R Us, I must report that referring to my 1958 paperback copy of Nabokov's Dozen as a reprint of the collection Spring in Fialta is incorrect as well. Or is it? I own the second printing of the Popular Library edition from November of 1958 (I think). The first printing is indicated as August, 1958. The copyright page indicates that Nabokov's Dozen was published (presumably in hardcover) by Doubleday & Company, Inc. in September of 1958. Further, my copy which is clearly titled Nabokov's Dozen on both cover and spine, displays the following information on both the copyright and title pages: "Originally reprinted as Spring in Fialta." Out of this confusion, I posit that in the beginning, there was only Nabokov's Dozen. And Nabokov's Dozen begat Spring in Fialta (the first paperback reprint). And as the days passed, Spring in Fialta begat Nabokov's Dozen, a Second Coming of the Father. And a great confusion spread across the land. Those who spoke Russian could write only in English. Amen.

Your Virgoan Rooster,
Phil
 
I had wanted to read this book for some time,but not so Enthusiastically.. i consider it as a cheap vulgar reading but when i got a chance to read it i deeply influance about it, well i am a very much reading buff. I absolutely loved it at first. It was just the right combination of vulgarity, candor, and smartassed criticism of human stupidity. The lofty language and the constant esoteric references (including phrases of French with no translation) often frustrated me and sometimes seemed kind of stupidly elitist. , so I'll say that I fully understand why this is considered one of the great, enduring works of literature.
 
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