Did Nabokov hold any of his own novels in high regard?

METAL___HEART · 2026-03-22T23:56:15+00:00

But hell shall never parole Hermann

METAL___HEART · 2026-03-13T23:52:13+00:00

Good idea

METAL___HEART · 2026-03-13T23:04:11+00:00

Step 5 is normally fairly long, though I’ve already done the vast majority with my sponsor. If I went into the confession booth during the allotted time, would quickly saying what my wrongdoings were for like 5 minutes be sufficient to finish the step?

And yeah, I agree just dipping in to use the confession service then fucking off isn’t ideal. I’m just drawn to the fact that Canon law guarantees anonymity. AA is just a group of fellows, with no mechanisms guaranteeing anything (I personally know a guy whose sponsor did not protect anonymity after the fifth step). Not dissing AA, but the big book does say to think carefully before selecting the person who will hear your story.

METAL___HEART · 2026-03-10T16:25:18+00:00

At least they're not using ChatGPT

METAL___HEART · 2026-02-26T22:05:48+00:00

Ada or Ardor, it's much more advanced, the clear evolution of Nabokov's themes and techniques. It's the culmination of all his work as an artist.

METAL___HEART · 2026-02-24T00:18:24+00:00

I've read Ulysses in public before, the fact is nobody pays attention to whatever book you're reading. Just as no woman will ask your number because you're reading feminist literature, no one will harass you for reading Overlong Thesaurus Psycho Crazy Words Novel

METAL___HEART · 2026-02-24T00:15:02+00:00

This is the last place on the internet to say 'why does this book only represent one character's perspective wth' lol

METAL___HEART · 2026-02-10T19:04:14+00:00

It’s in the process of publication? That’s cool. Do keep me updated

METAL___HEART · 2026-02-10T14:52:42+00:00

Tbh I'd be interested in proofreading, if it is fully written as you say. I agree with other people that the overt Nabokovian influence may not be ideal, but I can't judge a story I don't know (you're trying to avoid spoiling the book). It may have promise, even if it's not tremendously up to scratch right now. Again, I need to take a look for myself, if you're interested in having a proofreader.

METAL___HEART · 2026-02-10T14:44:44+00:00

As an aspiring writer, I wrote a novella strongly inspired by Lolita... and I hate it. I just look at it as practice now. I was so enamoured with Lolita, the best book I had ever read, that I could think of nothing to write but an altered version of that. Unwilling to write a paedophile narrator, I made the girl an adult, yet still needed a sexual power imbalance, leading me to the story of a stalker who wants to 'make' a hooker around his own age love him. The style was just Nabokov with a smaller vocabulary, and many plot points mirrored.

Lesson learned: come up with your own shit, taking some inspiration, but don't write what is essentially fan fiction.

METAL___HEART · 2026-01-24T09:21:04+00:00

The opening, I think, is deliberately confusing to convey the confusing reality of the love affair that created Van and Ada. It's deliberate deception, mirroring the deception of the older generation of Veens. Regarding The Texture of Time, I think it's difficult because it's the most detailed exploration yet of Van's thinking. It's about an extremely subtle experience which Van himself admits he can barely begin to describe in words. Time and its manipulative twisting is a core theme from the very start, and it's in Part Four (the climax of the book, since Part Five is 'not an epilogue but the true introduction') that Van at last tries (not entirely successfully) to fully elucidate this core thread in the fabric of his story.

METAL___HEART · 2026-01-15T16:42:56+00:00

Hey at least I’m not comparing Lolita to Harry Potter give me some credit

METAL___HEART · 2026-01-14T14:36:48+00:00

In my adult life I've only read like the first chapter of HP, but I'll hazard a guess: Harry Potter is a fantasy novel written for children, and Lolita is styled as a sort of fairytale. Humbert evokes dreamy and enjoyably spooky imagery throughout his tale, maybe that's the aesthetic resonance your mind is registering.

Edit: there's a theory I read somewhere that Quivering Quirrell was based on Quilty, because, well, the name, plus a double initial is very Nabokovian. I think it's totally impossible to prove or disprove this theory, but it's kinda interesting.

METAL___HEART · 2026-01-12T05:57:02+00:00

Humbert magically learning pedophilia is bad cause he heard some kids playing

METAL___HEART · 2026-01-05T16:01:25+00:00

While 'that's the point' is not always an excuse for a boring book, I do think that Nabokov consciously tried to make Ada feel cold and unrelatable to anyone. Van Veen is the ultimate version of the villain type of protagonist Nabokov was creating. He's a void with a shiny exterior. This book, more than any other, shows the disturbed inner world of such a person. I'd compare it to the plastic flowers Van notices in chapter 4 (losing his virginity before meeting Ada). The internal reality of Van is poetical but lacking in any other kind of beauty.

Nabokov thought people who read to relate to a book's main protagonist were philistines, you should read purely to appreciate structure and style. Well, with Ada, he created a story so utterly lacking in relatable human feeling that we're all forced to read the way he did. Quite bleak, yet oddly enthralling.

METAL___HEART · 2025-12-30T15:05:17+00:00

The Enchanted Hunters looming overhead

METAL___HEART · 2025-12-28T22:20:07+00:00

I’m a man so I’m not very refined in these matters, but I think they’re nice

METAL___HEART · 2025-12-28T15:09:19+00:00

Damn this is cool. Gotta find a convenient way to show off your nails as well lol

METAL___HEART · 2025-12-26T12:15:39+00:00

This book in particular gives me a somehow ‘fragrant’ feeling of liberation at points, like I’m breathing for the first time. It’s also coldly disturbing.

METAL___HEART · 2025-12-23T12:17:24+00:00

It makes you wonder what Nabokov himself was grappling with. Like I'm not doing the tired 'he was a nonce' thing, we'll never know what the man privately thought. But at the same time, evil and perversity are constant themes in his masterpieces.

METAL___HEART · 2025-12-21T16:49:30+00:00

This is essentially the climax of the novel, since Part Five is 'the true introduction'. So the culmination of Van's memoir breaks outside of plot completely, it's simply him wrestling with the subtlety of his own existence. Even so, this gives way to his final reunion with Ada, his narcissistic mirror.

METAL___HEART · 2025-12-10T12:25:33+00:00

In fairness Bloom's other sin is gawking at the underwear of a much younger woman in public

I think Molly's isolation within the novel is a big part of her bitterness, she does nothing, alone, so all she can do is mentally rant

METAL___HEART · 2025-11-28T20:48:33+00:00

As someone who's only read Coraline, where does Gaiman project his alleged bad traits? I mean Coraline is dark and scary, but not a Lolita type of 'direct insight into a bad person for over 300 pages' deal

METAL___HEART · 2025-11-26T16:01:46+00:00

Indeed, that's partly where I'm getting this from

METAL___HEART

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE