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Fw: Prose Styles
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Date
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Kenny, Glenn" <gkenny@hfmus.com>
To: "'D. Barton Johnson '" <chtodel@cox.net>
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2003 6:48 PM
Subject: RE: Prose Styles
> Wow. I have a lot of admiration for Amis, but boy (and pace Paul Fussell)
> did he ever miss the boat on Nabokov. For one thing, the extract below
makes
> clear that we must take him at his word about "Pnin"-by that I mean the
"at
> a glance" part. If you only consider "Pnin" at a glance you will fail to
> note that while the book for the most part is indeed "not written in the
> first person," its narrator is by no means the detached omniscient
narrator
> of the conventional novel but in fact a character himself. An
unsympathetic
> one at that.
>
> Of course, even if Amis the elder would be willing for even a minute to
> entertain such an argument as a defense of "Lolita," he finally would have
> no patience at all for a book that could be read as "an exercise in its
own
> interpretation." Oh well.
>
> Thanks for a provocative post, Mr. Veitch, and welcome aboard...
>
> GK
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: D. Barton Johnson
> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> Sent: 5/14/03 9:23 PM
> Subject: Fw: Prose Styles
>
> EDNOTE: Comparison of the prose styles is difficult to do in any
> rigorous
> way but would be well worth the effort. Comparisons invited.
> ---------------------------------------
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "James Veitch" <james.veitch@btopenworld.com>
> .
> >
> > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (85
> lines) ------------------
> > Dear All,
> >
> > Concerning prose styles, I've just completed my dissertation upon
> multiple
> > levels of perception in 'Lolita,' 'Pale Fire' and 'The Real Life of
> > Sebastian Knight,' and while researching I came across these gems
> written
> on
> > 'Lolita:'
> >
> >
> > No extract[...] could do justice to the sustained din of pun,
> allusion,
> > neologism, alliteration, cynghanedd, apostrophe, parenthesis,
> rhetorical
> > question. French, Latin, anent, perchance, would fain, for the nonce -
> here
> > is style and no mistake. One will be told, of course, that this is the
> > 'whole point,' that this is the hero, Humbert Humbert, talking in his
> own
> > person, not the author, and that what we are getting is
> 'characterisation.'
> > All right' but it seems ill-advised to characterise logomania by
> making it
> > talk 120,000 words at us, and a glance at Nabokov's last novel,
> 'Pnin,'
> > which is not written in the first person, establishes that this is
> Nabokov
> > talking.
> > Kingsley Amis, 'Spectator,' in 'Nabokov: The Critical Heritage,' p.
> 104-105
> >
> > and then this!
> >
> > But Humbert's mannered, sophisticated, intellectually clowning style
> (and
> > one calls it Humbert's rather than Nabokov's because comparison with
> the
> > style of 'Speak Memory' and 'Pnin' shows that it is a conscious device
> on
> > the author's part.
> > Walter Allen, 'New Statesman,' in 'Nabokov: The Critical Heritage,108
> >
> >
> > Amis's entire review is a bit of a giggle; at one point he complains
> that
> > everyone talks like Humbert, 'the murderee is Humbert all over again,
> > Humbert's old queer pall is Humbert and unnecessary, Lolita's mother
> talks
> > like Humbert.' entirely missing that events have been filtered through
> > Humbert twice over and moreover that 'Lolita' can be read as G.D.
> Josipovici
> > points out, 'Oamong other things, an exercise in its own
> interpretation.
> >
> > I agree, it would be very interesting to read a study comparing prose
> > styles. To some extent was VN not creating a character when he wrote
> 'Speak
> > Memory.' Also, why was it called 'an autobiography revisited?' I'd be
> > interested to hear everyone's ideas.
> >
> > Best Wishes
> > This was my first post.
> > James Veitch
> >
> >----------------------------------------------------------
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Discobolus" <tom@discobolus.co.za>
> > >>
> > >> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (25
> > > lines) ------------------
> > >>
> > >> Dear List,
> > >>
> > >> With regard to tackling "Pale Fire" for the first time, my own
> experience
> > > was delightful. Perched on the edge of the bed at
> > >> 10 pm one night, I was rocking a fretful baby in a wicker cradle. I
> picked
> > > up the book and was entranced. Next thing I
> > >> knew, the baby was fast asleep, I was rocking him intermittently
> and
> > > absent-mindedly, the sun was coming up and the
> > >> novel had been wolfed in a single sitting. Of course, I missed a
> lot;
> > > reading Brian Boyd 23 years later sent me back for
> > >> several further readings. But nothing matches that first magic
> impression
> > > of the labyrinth that VN had created for me. It
> > >> made me forever impervious to anything his detractors may say.
> > >>
> > >> Just a thought: has anyone ever done a study comparing the prose
> styles
> of
> > > Van Veen, Humbert and Kinbote with that
> > >> of VN himself in "Speak Memory" ? My impression is that he used a
> very
> > > loose rein in creating the characters, but was
> > >> much less flamboyant when writing as himself.
> > >>
> > >> Regards
> > >> Tom Rymour
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> >
> >
>
From: "Kenny, Glenn" <gkenny@hfmus.com>
To: "'D. Barton Johnson '" <chtodel@cox.net>
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2003 6:48 PM
Subject: RE: Prose Styles
> Wow. I have a lot of admiration for Amis, but boy (and pace Paul Fussell)
> did he ever miss the boat on Nabokov. For one thing, the extract below
makes
> clear that we must take him at his word about "Pnin"-by that I mean the
"at
> a glance" part. If you only consider "Pnin" at a glance you will fail to
> note that while the book for the most part is indeed "not written in the
> first person," its narrator is by no means the detached omniscient
narrator
> of the conventional novel but in fact a character himself. An
unsympathetic
> one at that.
>
> Of course, even if Amis the elder would be willing for even a minute to
> entertain such an argument as a defense of "Lolita," he finally would have
> no patience at all for a book that could be read as "an exercise in its
own
> interpretation." Oh well.
>
> Thanks for a provocative post, Mr. Veitch, and welcome aboard...
>
> GK
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: D. Barton Johnson
> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> Sent: 5/14/03 9:23 PM
> Subject: Fw: Prose Styles
>
> EDNOTE: Comparison of the prose styles is difficult to do in any
> rigorous
> way but would be well worth the effort. Comparisons invited.
> ---------------------------------------
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "James Veitch" <james.veitch@btopenworld.com>
> .
> >
> > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (85
> lines) ------------------
> > Dear All,
> >
> > Concerning prose styles, I've just completed my dissertation upon
> multiple
> > levels of perception in 'Lolita,' 'Pale Fire' and 'The Real Life of
> > Sebastian Knight,' and while researching I came across these gems
> written
> on
> > 'Lolita:'
> >
> >
> > No extract[...] could do justice to the sustained din of pun,
> allusion,
> > neologism, alliteration, cynghanedd, apostrophe, parenthesis,
> rhetorical
> > question. French, Latin, anent, perchance, would fain, for the nonce -
> here
> > is style and no mistake. One will be told, of course, that this is the
> > 'whole point,' that this is the hero, Humbert Humbert, talking in his
> own
> > person, not the author, and that what we are getting is
> 'characterisation.'
> > All right' but it seems ill-advised to characterise logomania by
> making it
> > talk 120,000 words at us, and a glance at Nabokov's last novel,
> 'Pnin,'
> > which is not written in the first person, establishes that this is
> Nabokov
> > talking.
> > Kingsley Amis, 'Spectator,' in 'Nabokov: The Critical Heritage,' p.
> 104-105
> >
> > and then this!
> >
> > But Humbert's mannered, sophisticated, intellectually clowning style
> (and
> > one calls it Humbert's rather than Nabokov's because comparison with
> the
> > style of 'Speak Memory' and 'Pnin' shows that it is a conscious device
> on
> > the author's part.
> > Walter Allen, 'New Statesman,' in 'Nabokov: The Critical Heritage,108
> >
> >
> > Amis's entire review is a bit of a giggle; at one point he complains
> that
> > everyone talks like Humbert, 'the murderee is Humbert all over again,
> > Humbert's old queer pall is Humbert and unnecessary, Lolita's mother
> talks
> > like Humbert.' entirely missing that events have been filtered through
> > Humbert twice over and moreover that 'Lolita' can be read as G.D.
> Josipovici
> > points out, 'Oamong other things, an exercise in its own
> interpretation.
> >
> > I agree, it would be very interesting to read a study comparing prose
> > styles. To some extent was VN not creating a character when he wrote
> 'Speak
> > Memory.' Also, why was it called 'an autobiography revisited?' I'd be
> > interested to hear everyone's ideas.
> >
> > Best Wishes
> > This was my first post.
> > James Veitch
> >
> >----------------------------------------------------------
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Discobolus" <tom@discobolus.co.za>
> > >>
> > >> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (25
> > > lines) ------------------
> > >>
> > >> Dear List,
> > >>
> > >> With regard to tackling "Pale Fire" for the first time, my own
> experience
> > > was delightful. Perched on the edge of the bed at
> > >> 10 pm one night, I was rocking a fretful baby in a wicker cradle. I
> picked
> > > up the book and was entranced. Next thing I
> > >> knew, the baby was fast asleep, I was rocking him intermittently
> and
> > > absent-mindedly, the sun was coming up and the
> > >> novel had been wolfed in a single sitting. Of course, I missed a
> lot;
> > > reading Brian Boyd 23 years later sent me back for
> > >> several further readings. But nothing matches that first magic
> impression
> > > of the labyrinth that VN had created for me. It
> > >> made me forever impervious to anything his detractors may say.
> > >>
> > >> Just a thought: has anyone ever done a study comparing the prose
> styles
> of
> > > Van Veen, Humbert and Kinbote with that
> > >> of VN himself in "Speak Memory" ? My impression is that he used a
> very
> > > loose rein in creating the characters, but was
> > >> much less flamboyant when writing as himself.
> > >>
> > >> Regards
> > >> Tom Rymour
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> >
> >
>