Awesome sauce! One of my favorite authors, next to Eco, Mann, Hesse, Huxley, Musil, Proust, and Kafka of course - definitely in my top ten on the Mount Rushmore of writers.
I hadn't thought about "Bend Sinister" in years and years, but now I do want to go back and re-read it. I'd forgotten the ending altogether (doesn't he do something similar in "Despair"?)-- I need to go back and see how he handles it. Very good review, by the way. I'd never have thought to compare "Bend Sinister" to "Anthem".
Agree very much that VN protests too much that this book has no message. Maybe what sets this book apart from such other “social” novels is that BS focuses more on the stifling of individual consciousness, rather than the actual physical control of the state. Perhaps not enough to justify VN’s dissembling protests, but I think it is a difference. Good review. The writing is a matter of taste.
Yes, it really keeps its perspective focused on Krug and doesn't bother so much with broader depictions of repression. It's very individual-oriented. And thnx! :)
I should finally get of my bottom and read more Nabokov. I remember finishing Lolita and thinking, "Man, that's a great book; I should get into more of this guy's stuff!" - and then just didn't do it, although I do have copies of Pale Fire and the collected short stories.
@@TH3F4LC0Nx It's almost a Nabokov version of an alt-history world, and in some ways proto-steampunk. It has airships and incest and a very different Russia and North America.
Loose talk in the classroom To hurt they try and try Strong words in the staff room The accusations fly It's no use, he sees her He starts to shake and cough Just like the old man in That book by.....
@TH3F4LC0Nx Giles goat boy will destroy everything you know about good books. How are not picking that up right now? Did you know DFW said Giles was the only book to make his heart beat fast?
Awesome sauce! One of my favorite authors, next to Eco, Mann, Hesse, Huxley, Musil, Proust, and Kafka of course - definitely in my top ten on the Mount Rushmore of writers.
Nabokov is definitely on the Mt. Rushmore of writers for me too! :D
@@TH3F4LC0Nx nice!!!
I hadn't thought about "Bend Sinister" in years and years, but now I do want to go back and re-read it. I'd forgotten the ending altogether (doesn't he do something similar in "Despair"?)-- I need to go back and see how he handles it. Very good review, by the way. I'd never have thought to compare "Bend Sinister" to "Anthem".
I haven't read Despair, but by now I kinda just anticipate some kind of narrative trickery with a Nabokov book. XD
Agree very much that VN protests too much that this book has no message. Maybe what sets this book apart from such other “social” novels is that BS focuses more on the stifling of individual consciousness, rather than the actual physical control of the state. Perhaps not enough to justify VN’s dissembling protests, but I think it is a difference. Good review. The writing is a matter of taste.
Yes, it really keeps its perspective focused on Krug and doesn't bother so much with broader depictions of repression. It's very individual-oriented. And thnx! :)
I should finally get of my bottom and read more Nabokov. I remember finishing Lolita and thinking, "Man, that's a great book; I should get into more of this guy's stuff!" - and then just didn't do it, although I do have copies of Pale Fire and the collected short stories.
Yeah, definitely do give some more Nabokov a go; he has a very rich catalogue. :)
@@TH3F4LC0Nx His "Ada, or Ardor" is brilliant. Worth a review!
@@SmallSpaceCorgi That's actually one that I've had for years now but haven't yet read. XD
@@TH3F4LC0Nx It's almost a Nabokov version of an alt-history world, and in some ways proto-steampunk. It has airships and incest and a very different Russia and North America.
Loose talk in the classroom
To hurt they try and try
Strong words in the staff room
The accusations fly
It's no use, he sees her
He starts to shake and cough
Just like the old man in
That book by.....
Sting was really reaching when he wrote that rhyme, lol. XD And I don't think Humbert Humbert ever shook and coughed either. XD
Equalism=democracy
If you love metafiction, try Letters by john barth?
I actually have been planning on giving Barth a try. Giles Goat Boy has sort of been on my radar for a while now. :)
@TH3F4LC0Nx Giles goat boy will destroy everything you know about good books. How are not picking that up right now? Did you know DFW said Giles was the only book to make his heart beat fast?
@@williamgass9242 Oh wow, maybe I'll up the priority then. ;)