Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0000407, Wed, 14 Dec 1994 09:57:58 -0800

Subject
Books that build character (fwd)
Date
Body
I thought this might be of interest, especially the double-think of the
last phrase.

>From _Books that Build Character: A Guide to Teaching Your Child Moral
Values Through Stories_ (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994) p. 37. The
authors are William Kilpatrick (author of _Why Johnny Can't Tell Right from
Wrong_ and Gregory & Suzanne Wolfe.

"Even Vladimir Nabokov, who is often cited as a foe of moralism,
admits the point. 'I never meant to deny the moral impact of art which is
certainly present in every genuine work of art,' wrote Nabokov, and he
often defended his controversial _Lolita_ on moral grounds, saying it had
'high moral content.'
For obvious reasons we've left _Lolita_ off our list [...]"


Jeff Edmunds