Author Archives: susan

It almost seems sacrilegious to have Nabokov’s language come out of Humbert Humbert.  A visit to a plausible cove on the Atlantic side was completely messed up by foul weather.  A thick damp sky, muddy waves, a sense of boundless … Continue reading → Continue reading →

A quickie– We find that indeed, Lolita has been deflowered prior to Humbert’s groping, and she in fact is the one who, after a painfully frustrating night for Humbert, seduces him. But onto hypertextual:  This novel with its high-falutin’ words … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This book is not comfortable reading and I’m trying to decide whether it’s the topic or if it’s the skill with which it involves the reader into this topic. The idea of a forty-plus year-old man lusting after a twelve … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Strange thoughts tonight about reading the enduring novels, the best loved, the most progressive, the products of writers who excelled in language use and the audacity to write an oft-told tale in a new way to find a path that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Since I haven’t quite had the head to put into Barthes’ S/Z, I only have scanned the codes he outlines but in reading Nabokov’s Lolita, I’m wondering if these little things I’m picking out are part of the readerly theory. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Nabokov gives us a Humbert that we’re never quite sure of, and Humbert himself seems to straddle the fence as to who or what he is.  Egotistical, blunt, intelligent, and focused, yes; but he seems unsure of whether to apply … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Humbert has just met Lolita, and while we can tell that his plan was to seduce a young girl where he thought he’d be staying–all he knew was that she was twelve years old–the plans have changed due to a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The reader will regret to learn that soon after my return to civilization I had another bout with insanity (…).  I owe my complete restoration to a discovery I made while being treated at that particular very expensive sanatorium.  I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Tried to keep away from the litpile, but couldn’t be left with just S/Z, Hypertext 3.0, and Ethics on the table.  So Vladmir Nabokov’s Lolita is next up. I am trying to get through the others but I’m beginning to … Continue reading → Continue reading →