"This portrayal of Garland brought back to me the provocative idea proposed long ago by literary critic Edmund Wilson in his classic treatise 'The Wound and the Bow' that 'genius and disease, like strength and mutilation, may be inextricably bound up together.' Wilson is principally referring to psychological disorders and the way exceptional artistic ability is often predicated on psychic wounds. "Talent is a mystery, but success requires enormous drive and a refusal to be content with ordinary standards. That perfectionist streak, as treacherous as it is necessary, has to come from somewhere, even if that somewhere is a void, a place that is missing what might have been filled in childhood."
These remarks seemed to me particularly striking in view of recent discussions here of PF & Lolita. They remind me, too, that I have felt something important is missing in our knowledge of the VN biography - yes, there is the traumatic loss of homeland and father, but these occurred in adulthood - early adulthood, but adulthood nonetheless. Do they really explain the dark side of Nabokov's works? or that nagging and troubling fact of his life - the chronic insomnia? If the insomnia had a physical explanation why has this not been discussed? or have I missed it?
I continue to feel that there is something seriously lacking in our understanding of VV (!?) Nabokov. I was disappointed in the general lack of interest in my discovery of the fact that the Nabokov family had in its collection a painting by the truly weird artist Nikolay Kalmakov. I thought it threw some light on a hitherto unknown aspect of that family, one worth pursuing. Since no one else seems interested, I am hoping to do more research myself into the Kalmakov-Nabokov connection.
In any event, my sorely tried faith in the Los Angeles Times has been somewhat restored.
C Kunin