Scan barcode
A review by michael5000
Lectures on Russian Literature by Vladimir Nabokov
4.0
November 2011: I won't rate it, as I've only read the parts about books I've read. But Nabokov is delightfully, puckishly Nabokovian. I am eternally grateful to him for speaking some truth about Dostoevsky, who is for me easily the most mysterious entry on the long list of GAGA (Generally Accepted Great Authors). The collection tilts rather strong towards "Anna Karenin," as Nabokov insists on calling it -- he feels that to call the novel "Anna Karenina is nonsense, for reasons that are nonsense." He worked for a while on a textbook edition of AK, and his planned prefatory material is included here.
November 2016: I read the whole thing this time. Agree with him or disagree with him, Nabokov is great fun to follow as he lays down his often surprising opinions as if they were pronouncements from on high. Well, they are pronouncements from Nabokov, which counts for more than a little.
November 2016: I read the whole thing this time. Agree with him or disagree with him, Nabokov is great fun to follow as he lays down his often surprising opinions as if they were pronouncements from on high. Well, they are pronouncements from Nabokov, which counts for more than a little.