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[Fwd: RE: Amis. Nabokov, Bellow]]
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-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: [Fwd: RE: Amis. Nabokov, Bellow]
Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2002 18:00:47 -0600
From: "Fuller, Freda" <freda.fuller@mwsu.edu>
Alphonse Vinh said:
"...a great writer and stylist like William Faulkner, whom I revere,
Nabokov had no use for."
This would be because Faulkner has a serious axe to grind in his
writing: he wants to control what the reader thinks. Nabokov writes
mostly for his own amazement.
Freda Fuller-Coursey
Midwestern State University
Wichita Falls TX
-----Original Message-----
From: D. Barton Johnson
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Sent: 2/9/02 12:29 PM
Subject: [Fwd: RE: Amis. Nabokov, Bellow]
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: Amis. Nabokov, Bellow
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 17:36:57 -0500
From: Alphonse Vinh <mailto:AVinh@npr.org> <AVinh@npr.org>
To: "'Vladimir Nabokov Forum'" <mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
<NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
----------------- Message requiring your approval (34 lines)
------------------
I wonder if one of Nabokov's objections to Bellow besides differing
stylistic temperaments would not also include Bellow's penchant for the
"philosophical" novel. Given Nabokov's distaste for other practitioners
of
the "philosophical" novel such as Camus, Sartre and Dostoevskii. In his
STRONG OPINIONS, Nabokov was asked directly by an interviewer for his
opinion of Saul Bellow's art, and the Maestro replied, "A puff of
smoke."
It's not that ideas don't matter to Nabokov. For instance, he greatly
admired Bely's PETERSBURG which shows the influence of Bely's interest
in
theosophical and occult matters. However, Nabokov always asserted his
preference for the supremacy of the author's style over any predeliction
for
moralising, pontificating or philosophying.
Sometimes, it's simply a matter of taste. Note Nabokov's love of H.G.
Wells'
fantastic tales like THE TIME MACHINE (which he shared wi
th another
polymath, Jorge Luis Borges). On the other hand, a great writer and
stylist
like William Faulkner, whom I revere, Nabokov had no use for.
Alphonse Vinh
-----Original Message-----
From: D. Barton Johnson [ mailto:chtodel@gte.net
<mailto:chtodel@gte.net> ]
Sent: Friday, February 08, 2002 12:43 PM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU <mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Subject: Amis. Nabokov, Bellow
-------------------
Amis's other fave rave is Saul Bellow, but MA notes that VN did not care
much for SB. Can anyone here provide more details? Just what were VN's
criticisms of Bellow, and did he refer to any specific novels?
Jay Livingston
Subject: RE: [Fwd: RE: Amis. Nabokov, Bellow]
Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2002 18:00:47 -0600
From: "Fuller, Freda" <freda.fuller@mwsu.edu>
Alphonse Vinh said:
"...a great writer and stylist like William Faulkner, whom I revere,
Nabokov had no use for."
This would be because Faulkner has a serious axe to grind in his
writing: he wants to control what the reader thinks. Nabokov writes
mostly for his own amazement.
Freda Fuller-Coursey
Midwestern State University
Wichita Falls TX
-----Original Message-----
From: D. Barton Johnson
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Sent: 2/9/02 12:29 PM
Subject: [Fwd: RE: Amis. Nabokov, Bellow]
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: Amis. Nabokov, Bellow
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 17:36:57 -0500
From: Alphonse Vinh <mailto:AVinh@npr.org> <AVinh@npr.org>
To: "'Vladimir Nabokov Forum'" <mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
<NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
----------------- Message requiring your approval (34 lines)
------------------
I wonder if one of Nabokov's objections to Bellow besides differing
stylistic temperaments would not also include Bellow's penchant for the
"philosophical" novel. Given Nabokov's distaste for other practitioners
of
the "philosophical" novel such as Camus, Sartre and Dostoevskii. In his
STRONG OPINIONS, Nabokov was asked directly by an interviewer for his
opinion of Saul Bellow's art, and the Maestro replied, "A puff of
smoke."
It's not that ideas don't matter to Nabokov. For instance, he greatly
admired Bely's PETERSBURG which shows the influence of Bely's interest
in
theosophical and occult matters. However, Nabokov always asserted his
preference for the supremacy of the author's style over any predeliction
for
moralising, pontificating or philosophying.
Sometimes, it's simply a matter of taste. Note Nabokov's love of H.G.
Wells'
fantastic tales like THE TIME MACHINE (which he shared wi
th another
polymath, Jorge Luis Borges). On the other hand, a great writer and
stylist
like William Faulkner, whom I revere, Nabokov had no use for.
Alphonse Vinh
-----Original Message-----
From: D. Barton Johnson [ mailto:chtodel@gte.net
<mailto:chtodel@gte.net> ]
Sent: Friday, February 08, 2002 12:43 PM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU <mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Subject: Amis. Nabokov, Bellow
-------------------
Amis's other fave rave is Saul Bellow, but MA notes that VN did not care
much for SB. Can anyone here provide more details? Just what were VN's
criticisms of Bellow, and did he refer to any specific novels?
Jay Livingston