Definitely do. If a book has that effect on me then it must be an artistic masterpiece.

^ Don't worry, grindy, if you can decipher some of the English that's posted on MB, Nabokov shouldn't be a problem. ;)

^ Absolutely times two. The opening paragraph of Lolita is in my top five best-ever book starts.

It was out of admiration for his style that I tried a couple of other Nabokov novels, but none of them were nearly as compelling. I think I abandoned them a few chapters in: too much style on topics that were too dull to sustain it imo. In fact, when it came to reading beyond Lolita, I got more enjoyment out of this book, even though it only has 50 or so pages of commentary on Lolita:-

https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/com...1318l/7603.jpg

Nabokov is my favourite author. Can't believe you weren't able to dig anything else he wrote.
Although his earlier Russian writings are probably almost untranslatable. What he did with the Russian language was and still is unparalleled.

^ Really? I came to my conclusions about those other novels when I was about 20, so perhaps my ideas are due for a revision. I think I tried "Speak, Memory" too, which, being an autobiog, I expected to enjoy but didn't for some reason. :(

^ yep, I can believe that: he was a real master of style.

Not sure if you've read it, but I'd be interested in your take on Sebald's Rings of Saturn comparing the German and English versions to one another, having only read (and loved) the English version. He was central in the translation which should make that pretty good. Honestly, reviewing translations would be a top notch journal or thread idea if you were up to taking the time out for it.

I always wanted to but never read it.
I'll be happy if I ever get to read it in German, rereading it in English would just be too time consuming, despite my heavy interest in translation topics. Same reason why the journal will never happen, despite being a cool idea.

You could do it with famous poems instead of whole novels.

Those are two of the most brilliant sentences I've ever read, right after each other (well, the second one is not one sentence technically)

I like how he does not explicitly moralize, but makes very clear by the way he tells the story, and details that he empasizes, what damage such a relationship does. Confusing morals of artists with those of main characters is such an old and common mistake, it's baffling that it still happens

Most people are basic af and have no imagination.

Friend and I were talking about which countries to live in before America sparks the next world war as the new Germany. I was talking about how cool it would live in Sugma because of their food and he asked "what's Sugma?" You know I got eem. It was one of the greatest moments of my life.