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Fw: Fw: Prefaces and Amis
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EDNOTE. To the following melange of observations, I would speculate that
undergrads are more likely to read the prefaces and skip/skim the text
whereas the public is more likely to skip/skim the text but not the
prefaces. VN put newspaper reviewers in a special category in his preface to
THE DEFeNSE implying they don't read the books at all. His introduction to
that novels cites two/scene that aren't in the book at all.
-----------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew Brown" <as-brown@comcast.net>
> "I suspect Amis might have been oddly flattered. This
> should not have been the case."
>
>
> Excuse me, this is a little obtuse. Amis is, if nothing else, a huge
admirer
> of Nabokov, a friend to Nabokov's son, a literary purist and a man of
> exacting literary standards. Your accusation is groundless. So is your
> statement that "many of the book's readers skip the preface entirely." On
> what authority do you make this reEDNOTE
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kenny, Glenn" <gkenny@hfmus.com>
> To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 9:24 PM
> Subject: Fw: Prefaces and Amis
> > > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (66
> > lines) ------------------
> > > I might imagine Amis might have been able to work up a little more
> > > indignation. Removing such a vital part of the book is hardly
naive-it's
> > > unspeakably dumb. I suspect Amis might have been oddly flattered. This
> > > should not have been the case.
> > >
> > > But all this reminds me of the fact that many of the book's readers do
> in
> > > fact, skip the preface entirely. One might surmise that one reader
many
> > may
> > > call distinguished did the very thing. In his discursive 1971 novel
> > > "Imaginative Qualities of Actual Things," Gilbert Sorrentino gets a
bit
> > > indignant himself ruminating on the post-"Lolita" life of Dolores
Haze.
> I
> > > don't have the actual book in front of me (nor shall I ever, because
> after
> > > reading the passage I tossed it out, and decided to never have
anything
> to
> > > do with Sorrentino again) but the passage made it pretty clear that
> > > Sorrentino was A) writing in his own voice, not that of any
"unreliable"
> > > narrator and B) absolutely unaware that Dolores Haze is dead as the
book
> > > begins (is that a spoiler?) indicating that he either skipped Mr.
Ray's
> > > words or wasn't able to put two and two together. Indolence or
> > > ignorance-either quality seemed to me a sufficient reason to shun this
> > > writer for the rest of my days.
> > >
> > > GK
> > >
> > > > ----------
> > > > From: D. Barton Johnson
> > > > Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> > > > Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 11:23 AM
> > > > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > > > Subject: Fw: Prefaces and Amis
> > > >
> > > > EDNOTE. Suellen Stringer-Hye is the long time compiler of a series
of
> > > > "Collations" summariziing news of VN in the media. Many of these are
> now
> > > > in
> > > > the Zembla web site.
> > > >
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: "Stringer-Hye, Suellen" <suellen.stringer-hye@vanderbilt.edu>
> > > > >
> > > > > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (24
> > > > lines) ------------------
> > > > > Combining two recent threads. From VNColations #10
> > > > >
> > > > > ***********************************
> > > > > The November 16, Evening Standard reports this amusing anecdote.
> > > > > Everyman Press, for a new edition of Lolita has,
> > > > > "...just made a textual error in a new edition for the Everyman
> > > > > Library resulting in the abandonment of its first run. Such a
> > > > > disaster was the last thing the firm had in mind when it
> > > > > commissioned Martin Amis ... to write a fresh introduction to the
> > > > > novel.
> > > > >
> > > > > So delighted was the publisher, David Campbell, with Amis's 19
> > > > > pages that he substituted them for the book's foreward, written by
> > > > > John Ray Jr, PhD."
> > > > >
> > > > > Amis called it a "a naive editorial error," a fact that does not
in
> > > > > any way diminish its charm.
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > ---------------------------------------
> > > > > Stringer-Hye, Suellen
> > > > > Vanderbilt University
> > > > > Email: suellen.stringer-hye@Vanderbilt.Edu
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> mark? Keep in mind that student readers
> under duress, and academics in general, make up only portion of Nabokov's
international readership.
undergrads are more likely to read the prefaces and skip/skim the text
whereas the public is more likely to skip/skim the text but not the
prefaces. VN put newspaper reviewers in a special category in his preface to
THE DEFeNSE implying they don't read the books at all. His introduction to
that novels cites two/scene that aren't in the book at all.
-----------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew Brown" <as-brown@comcast.net>
> "I suspect Amis might have been oddly flattered. This
> should not have been the case."
>
>
> Excuse me, this is a little obtuse. Amis is, if nothing else, a huge
admirer
> of Nabokov, a friend to Nabokov's son, a literary purist and a man of
> exacting literary standards. Your accusation is groundless. So is your
> statement that "many of the book's readers skip the preface entirely." On
> what authority do you make this reEDNOTE
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kenny, Glenn" <gkenny@hfmus.com>
> To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 9:24 PM
> Subject: Fw: Prefaces and Amis
> > > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (66
> > lines) ------------------
> > > I might imagine Amis might have been able to work up a little more
> > > indignation. Removing such a vital part of the book is hardly
naive-it's
> > > unspeakably dumb. I suspect Amis might have been oddly flattered. This
> > > should not have been the case.
> > >
> > > But all this reminds me of the fact that many of the book's readers do
> in
> > > fact, skip the preface entirely. One might surmise that one reader
many
> > may
> > > call distinguished did the very thing. In his discursive 1971 novel
> > > "Imaginative Qualities of Actual Things," Gilbert Sorrentino gets a
bit
> > > indignant himself ruminating on the post-"Lolita" life of Dolores
Haze.
> I
> > > don't have the actual book in front of me (nor shall I ever, because
> after
> > > reading the passage I tossed it out, and decided to never have
anything
> to
> > > do with Sorrentino again) but the passage made it pretty clear that
> > > Sorrentino was A) writing in his own voice, not that of any
"unreliable"
> > > narrator and B) absolutely unaware that Dolores Haze is dead as the
book
> > > begins (is that a spoiler?) indicating that he either skipped Mr.
Ray's
> > > words or wasn't able to put two and two together. Indolence or
> > > ignorance-either quality seemed to me a sufficient reason to shun this
> > > writer for the rest of my days.
> > >
> > > GK
> > >
> > > > ----------
> > > > From: D. Barton Johnson
> > > > Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> > > > Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 11:23 AM
> > > > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > > > Subject: Fw: Prefaces and Amis
> > > >
> > > > EDNOTE. Suellen Stringer-Hye is the long time compiler of a series
of
> > > > "Collations" summariziing news of VN in the media. Many of these are
> now
> > > > in
> > > > the Zembla web site.
> > > >
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: "Stringer-Hye, Suellen" <suellen.stringer-hye@vanderbilt.edu>
> > > > >
> > > > > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (24
> > > > lines) ------------------
> > > > > Combining two recent threads. From VNColations #10
> > > > >
> > > > > ***********************************
> > > > > The November 16, Evening Standard reports this amusing anecdote.
> > > > > Everyman Press, for a new edition of Lolita has,
> > > > > "...just made a textual error in a new edition for the Everyman
> > > > > Library resulting in the abandonment of its first run. Such a
> > > > > disaster was the last thing the firm had in mind when it
> > > > > commissioned Martin Amis ... to write a fresh introduction to the
> > > > > novel.
> > > > >
> > > > > So delighted was the publisher, David Campbell, with Amis's 19
> > > > > pages that he substituted them for the book's foreward, written by
> > > > > John Ray Jr, PhD."
> > > > >
> > > > > Amis called it a "a naive editorial error," a fact that does not
in
> > > > > any way diminish its charm.
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > ---------------------------------------
> > > > > Stringer-Hye, Suellen
> > > > > Vanderbilt University
> > > > > Email: suellen.stringer-hye@Vanderbilt.Edu
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> mark? Keep in mind that student readers
> under duress, and academics in general, make up only portion of Nabokov's
international readership.