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Re: VN's worst novel? (fwd)
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From: Philip Nikolayev <nikolay@husc.harvard.edu>
In my view, Nabokov has a novel that is dreadful by every standard of
judgment - 'Despair.' I would be hard-pressed to point out any
redeeming feature there. This may have something to do with V.N.'s
bizarre and apparently irrational obsession with discrediting
Dostoevsky, which may have general interest only to the extent that it
is associated with Nabokov himself as an outstanding author. As far as
the shorter tales are concerned, I believe that 'Tyrants Destroyed'
has awfully little merit. Both seem to stand out in sharp contrast to
most of his other writings, which are consistently far better. Thought
I'd say this, though I doubt that many in this group will agree with
me.
Cheers,
Philip Nikolayev
nikolay@fas.harvard.edu
In my view, Nabokov has a novel that is dreadful by every standard of
judgment - 'Despair.' I would be hard-pressed to point out any
redeeming feature there. This may have something to do with V.N.'s
bizarre and apparently irrational obsession with discrediting
Dostoevsky, which may have general interest only to the extent that it
is associated with Nabokov himself as an outstanding author. As far as
the shorter tales are concerned, I believe that 'Tyrants Destroyed'
has awfully little merit. Both seem to stand out in sharp contrast to
most of his other writings, which are consistently far better. Thought
I'd say this, though I doubt that many in this group will agree with
me.
Cheers,
Philip Nikolayev
nikolay@fas.harvard.edu