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Re: Fwd: Banville and Nabokov/addendum to Athena post
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Mark, thanks for clearing that up. I think this proves that context is
all - in some situations. I doubt Banville has suffered, simply because
any search for him - let alone the experience of reading him - will
offer up a multitude of delights. I think critic X, as you name her/him,
was a little hasty, but, who knows, he or she may stand by her/her
assertions. I hope not.
Brian Howell
On Mon, 14 Feb 2005 12:56:34 -0800, "Donald B. Johnson"
<chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu> said:
> I submitted the original quotation from Banville's "Athena." "Hear" is a
> typo,
> and is "fondly." In my defense, I will offer only the late hour that I
> typed
> message and the effects of the flu; but some offenses are unforgivable:
> to quote
> an author and subject him to criticism and abuse because of my inaccurate
> typing
> is a serious matter, and I offer a thousand apologies to John Banville,
> the
> anonymous critic, Mr. Howell, Professor Johnson, every member of
> NABOKV-L, all
> nine Muses, and the great god Apollo himself. Otherwise I stand by my
> submission. The always acute Mr. Howell is correct in attributing the
> "errors"
> in the quotation to the unreliable narrative of "Athena," who shares with
> Humbert Humbert an unfortunate propensity to get everything wrong.
> ("Athena,"
> by the way, is the concluding volume of a trilogy consisting of "The Book
> of
> Evidence," "Ghosts," and "Athena.") Critic X contends that my example
> provides
> evidence that Banville is vague and untalented; I believe otherwise. Such
> is the
> mysterious matter of taste. Perhaps I selected a particularly poor
> example to
> illustrate my point; perhaps I simply have a tin ear. In either event,
> if my
> choice has provoked in Critic X such aversion that he, or she, is in no
> hurry
> to read "Athena," then I have done both Critic X and John Banville a
> grave
> disservice. It is well worth any reader's time, Nabokovian or not.
>
> Mark Bennett
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of Donald B. Johnson
> Sent: Mon 2/14/2005 8:56 AM
> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> Subject: Re: Fwd: Banville and Nabokov/addendum to Athena post
>
>
>
> I can't see what is wrong with this passage if the narrator is one of
> Banville's typically unreliable narrators. The 'hear' is a typo. [Btw,
> I do not know who posted the original message and who in turn posted the
> critique below.] I haven't read this particular novel, either, but I
> don't think for one second that Banville was writing in anything but a
> deliberately confused voice here. I humbly admit that I'm ignorant
> enough of the geography of the USA for the infelicities to have washed
> over me. But Banville is simply too intelligent to have made such
> mistakes himself. They MUST be the narrator's - don't forget the editors
> and fact-checkers! If I am wrong I shall certainly eat humble-pie. I
> think there are some cliches here, but, again, I think we probably need
> to have read the book to establish whether they are part and parcel of
> the narrator's idiom. As for comparisons with Nabokov, I don't think
> that we can check off every aspect of Banville's diction against
> Nabokov's and necessarily find Banville wanting - if this is inspired by
> Nabokov (which it plainly is), it's done in the knowledge that _Lolita_
> came first and it cannot be as good as _Lolita_; it can't replace it,
> ,just conjure a pleasant memory of that work. I hope that the poster
> below isn't unduly put off Banville now. I would suggest she/he could
> start with _The Book of Evidence_ or _Dr Copernicus_ or maybe _The
> Untouchable_.
>
>
> Brian Howell
>
>
> On Sun, 13 Feb 2005 10:02:38 -0800, "Donald B. Johnson"
> <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu> said:
> > I don't know to whom I am replying -- this last post bears no signature
> > --
> > and since I've read no Banville other than the specimen quoted below, I
> > cannot judge whether Banville or Amis is the contemporary novelist most
> > influenced by Nabokov. But the idea that there is some sort of
> > competition
> > for this title is questionable, and not one that I think Amis would
> > welcome
> > as a way of analyzing his work. Novelists who are any good get their
> > influences under control and go about the business of becoming
> > themselves.
> >
> > There are a number of phrases and narrative devices in Amis's work that
> > indicate a high regard for Nabokov. But, Nabokov or not, Amis would still
> > have been a novelist. And there is much about Amis's work that Nabokov
> > would
> > have disliked intensely. Amis certainly knows this, and has held his own
> > course all the same. The quote below, whether it's judged as an example
> > of
> > Nabokovian influence, or simply of Banville's skills as a novelist, is
> > unimpressive. I give Banville the benefit of the doubt to the extent that
> > what is quoted may, I hope, have simply been badly typed.
> >
> > How familiar is this narrator with English? "The first time I HEAR of
> > Mother she HAD been born in America, in Savannah, or Louisiana, or "some
> > other homonymous bayou of the Deep South," into a family OF ANCIENT
> > LINEAGE;
> > in subsequent accounts, however, the birthplace shifted to Mississippi,
> > then
> > Missouri, and once even, if my ears did not deceive me, to Missoula,
> > which
> > my atlas tells me is a town in the Rocky Mountains in the northerly state
> > of
> > Montana ...."
> >
> > This sentence is a catastrophe. "The first time I hear of Mother..."
> > Does
> > this person mean the past tense "heard"? And is it the mother who is
> > unclear
> > about U.S. geography, or is it Banville? Savannah is a city in Georgia;
> > Louisianna is a state. Louisianna has bayous; Savannah does not. Whatever
> > a
> > "homonymous bayou" may be is a mystery, but it is more than just a casual
> > narrative stmble that takes one from the bayou to the high plains of
> > Missoula. The confusion over Mississippi, Missouri, and points north
> > sounds
> > more less like befuddlement on the part of the narrator, planned by the
> > author, than it sounds like the ineptitude of an author leafing through a
> > school book, looking for some local color. The narrator's atlas says
> > (shows,
> > rather) that Missoula is a town in Montana. But Missoula is a city in
> > Montana. A small point? There are no small points. Writing novels is a
> > business of making hundreds of small decisions every day, and of getting
> > them right.
> >
> > "...where I, Melmoth the Bereft, shall journey on that circumferential
> > pilgrimage I intend one of these days to undertake in
> > search of my lost love..." This may be intended to parody Humbert
> > Humbert,
> > or it may be an outrageous and unforgivable attempt to ride on Nabokov's
> > coat tails, but an homage it is not. Nor is a cliche such as "ancient
> > lineage" somehow Nabokovian. "My LOST LOVE ...?" This is a patchwork of
> > exhausted phrase-making.
> >
> > The narrator has heard from his mother that her father was Swiss. Is this
> > supposed to make us think of Humbert's father?
> > He is "a diplomat is the foreign service ... brought up "all over the
> > place." Not exactly a sharp, definitive description. Banville can be
> > forgiven if this is intended to be willfully bad, like the short
> > autobiography that Jay Gatsby gives Nick Carraway. If not, it's a
> > gallimauffery of cliches.
> >
> > "And indeed, in her sleep she often spoke in what seemed to me foreign
> > languages."
> >
> > Where and how did this dimly imagined vagrant mother pick up these
> > "foreign"
> > languages? Between Savannah and Missoula? And what are they? Italian?
> > Ukrainian? Urdu? Or is it simply English, which Banville seems to have
> > picked up from an online corresponence school.
> >
> > "By the way ... I always take up with restless sleepers." What sparks
> > this
> > thought? Is the narrator sleeping with his mother? "About Daddy OMINOUS
> > HINTS were dropped." These hints, however ominous, seem to amount only to
> > Daddy's being a dark, sleek-haired French gentleman sort of fellow,
> > "sinisterly" handsome..." Sounds like Rhett Butler. Multi-jeweled watch?
> >
> > No. Undoubtedly the Nabokovian bit is that this cartoon is "idly fondly"
> > (fondling?) a pale little girl perched in his lap."
> >
> > Please don't tell me the last item is an "homage" to Nabokov. Considering
> > that this is such a small sample of Banville's work,
> > I will withhold my judgement. It's possible that, if there was some
> > humorous
> > intent behind these lines, Banville may not be as vague and untalented as
> > he
> > seems. But I can't say I'm in any hurry to read Athena.
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>
> > To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> > Sent: Sunday, February 13, 2005 1:17 AM
> > Subject: Re: Fwd: Banville and Nabokov
> >
> >
> > > For my money, Banville is a much better example of a contemporary novelist
> > who
> > > has deeply, and favorably, influenced by VN than the much more celebrated
> > > Martin Amis. A much better novelist as well. Banville's most Nabokovian
> > > novel is "Athena," which contains many passages that are outright homages
> > to
> > > VN, including the following:
> > >
> > > "The first time I hear of Mother she had been born in America, in
> > Savannah, or
> > > Louisana, or some other homonymous bayou of the Deep South, into a family
> > of
> > > ancient lineage; in subsequent accounts, however, the birthplace shifted
> > to
> > > Mississippi, then Missouri, and once even, if my ears did not deceive me,
> > to
> > > Missoula, which my atlas tells me, is a town in the Rocky Moutains in the
> > > northerly state of Montana, to where I, Melmoth the Bereft, shall journey
> > on
> > > that circumferential pilgrimage I intend one of these days to undertake in
> > > search of my lost love. But Missoula! - where on earth did she get that
> > from?
> > > her father, she said, was Swiss. He had been - I heard it coming before
> > she
> > > said it - a diplomat in the foreign service, and she had been brought up
> > all
> > > over the place; and indeed, in her sleep she often spoke in what seemed to
> > me
> > > foreign languages. (By the way, why is it, I wonder, that I always take
> > up
> > > with restless sleepers?) About Daddy, ominous hints were dropped; I
> > pictured
> > > a dark, sleek-haired gentilhomme, sinisterly handsome - see his skier's
> > tan,
> > > his chocolate-dark eyes, his multi-jewelled watch - idly fondly a pale
> > little
> > > girl perched in his lap."
> > >
> > > Banville, "Athena" Vintage paperback, 1996, pp. 122 -123.
> > >
> > > ________________________________
> > >
> > > From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of Donald B. Johnson
> > > Sent: Sat 2/12/2005 5:59 PM
> > > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > > Subject: Re: Fwd: Banville and Nabokov
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Thanks to Tom and Michael for these interesting connections.
> > >
> > > Best
> > >
> > >
> > > Brian Howell
> > >
> > >
> > > On Wed, 9 Feb 2005 19:29:17 -0800, "Donald B. Johnson"
> > > <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu> said:
> > > > Although I did not notice Nabokovian echoes in "Shroud", the earlier
> > > > companion
> > > > novel, "Eclipse", has a clear reference to "Lolita" and perhaps other
> > > > Nabokov
> > > > works. There is a Lolita-like girl (although no pedophilia) and a ghost
> > > > plot
> > > > that has parallels to certain theories about Hazel Shade's role in "Pale
> > > > Fire."
> > > >
> > > > For what it's worth, in interviews Banville has acknowledged Nabokov's
> > > > influence.
> > > >
> > > > Tom Walker
> > > >
> > > > Quoting "Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>:
> > > >
> > > > > ----- Forwarded message from mmillea@ifone.com -----
> > > > > Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2005 18:57:20 -0000 (GMT)
> > > > > From: Michael Millea <mmillea@ifone.com>
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Here is Nabokov-de Man link. Nabokov left Cornell in January 1959,
> > and
> > > > > Paul de Man, with his newly minted Harvard doctorate, was hired by
> > Cornell
> > > > > in 1960. Since de Man was a former Nazi and the author of a number of
> > > > > shrill, trashy anti-Semitic diatribes, Nabokov, whose views on
> > > > > anti-Semitism are well known, probably would have thought he left
> > Cornell
> > > > > at just the right time.
> > > > >
> > > > > Although I've never come across any evidence that Nabokov was even
> > aware
> > > > > of de Man, two of his creations, Professor Hagen and Bodo Falternfels,
> > > > > give some indication that he must have bumped into similar postwar
> > > > > flotsam.
> > > > >
> > > > > Michael
> > > > >
> > > > > > Andrew - you may be right there, though I just read a review and
> > > > > > apparently the critic (?) Paul de Man was part-inspiration for the
> > > > > > narrator. I wonder if there is a Nabokov-de Man link. That would be
> > an
> > > > > > interesting connection.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Brian Howell
> > > >
> > > > ----- End forwarded message -----
> > >
> > > http://www.windriverpress.com/titles/studyofsleep.html
> > > http://www.tobypress.com/books/dance_geometry.htm
> > > ? http://www.elasticpress.com/sound_of_white_ants.htm
> > >
> > > ----- End forwarded message -----
> > >
> > > ----- End forwarded message -----
> >
> > ----- End forwarded message -----
> http://www.windriverpress.com/titles/studyofsleep.html
> http://www.tobypress.com/books/dance_geometry.htm
> http://www.elasticpress.com/sound_of_white_ants.htm
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
http://www.windriverpress.com/titles/studyofsleep.html
http://www.tobypress.com/books/dance_geometry.htm
http://www.elasticpress.com/sound_of_white_ants.htm
----- End forwarded message -----
all - in some situations. I doubt Banville has suffered, simply because
any search for him - let alone the experience of reading him - will
offer up a multitude of delights. I think critic X, as you name her/him,
was a little hasty, but, who knows, he or she may stand by her/her
assertions. I hope not.
Brian Howell
On Mon, 14 Feb 2005 12:56:34 -0800, "Donald B. Johnson"
<chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu> said:
> I submitted the original quotation from Banville's "Athena." "Hear" is a
> typo,
> and is "fondly." In my defense, I will offer only the late hour that I
> typed
> message and the effects of the flu; but some offenses are unforgivable:
> to quote
> an author and subject him to criticism and abuse because of my inaccurate
> typing
> is a serious matter, and I offer a thousand apologies to John Banville,
> the
> anonymous critic, Mr. Howell, Professor Johnson, every member of
> NABOKV-L, all
> nine Muses, and the great god Apollo himself. Otherwise I stand by my
> submission. The always acute Mr. Howell is correct in attributing the
> "errors"
> in the quotation to the unreliable narrative of "Athena," who shares with
> Humbert Humbert an unfortunate propensity to get everything wrong.
> ("Athena,"
> by the way, is the concluding volume of a trilogy consisting of "The Book
> of
> Evidence," "Ghosts," and "Athena.") Critic X contends that my example
> provides
> evidence that Banville is vague and untalented; I believe otherwise. Such
> is the
> mysterious matter of taste. Perhaps I selected a particularly poor
> example to
> illustrate my point; perhaps I simply have a tin ear. In either event,
> if my
> choice has provoked in Critic X such aversion that he, or she, is in no
> hurry
> to read "Athena," then I have done both Critic X and John Banville a
> grave
> disservice. It is well worth any reader's time, Nabokovian or not.
>
> Mark Bennett
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of Donald B. Johnson
> Sent: Mon 2/14/2005 8:56 AM
> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> Subject: Re: Fwd: Banville and Nabokov/addendum to Athena post
>
>
>
> I can't see what is wrong with this passage if the narrator is one of
> Banville's typically unreliable narrators. The 'hear' is a typo. [Btw,
> I do not know who posted the original message and who in turn posted the
> critique below.] I haven't read this particular novel, either, but I
> don't think for one second that Banville was writing in anything but a
> deliberately confused voice here. I humbly admit that I'm ignorant
> enough of the geography of the USA for the infelicities to have washed
> over me. But Banville is simply too intelligent to have made such
> mistakes himself. They MUST be the narrator's - don't forget the editors
> and fact-checkers! If I am wrong I shall certainly eat humble-pie. I
> think there are some cliches here, but, again, I think we probably need
> to have read the book to establish whether they are part and parcel of
> the narrator's idiom. As for comparisons with Nabokov, I don't think
> that we can check off every aspect of Banville's diction against
> Nabokov's and necessarily find Banville wanting - if this is inspired by
> Nabokov (which it plainly is), it's done in the knowledge that _Lolita_
> came first and it cannot be as good as _Lolita_; it can't replace it,
> ,just conjure a pleasant memory of that work. I hope that the poster
> below isn't unduly put off Banville now. I would suggest she/he could
> start with _The Book of Evidence_ or _Dr Copernicus_ or maybe _The
> Untouchable_.
>
>
> Brian Howell
>
>
> On Sun, 13 Feb 2005 10:02:38 -0800, "Donald B. Johnson"
> <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu> said:
> > I don't know to whom I am replying -- this last post bears no signature
> > --
> > and since I've read no Banville other than the specimen quoted below, I
> > cannot judge whether Banville or Amis is the contemporary novelist most
> > influenced by Nabokov. But the idea that there is some sort of
> > competition
> > for this title is questionable, and not one that I think Amis would
> > welcome
> > as a way of analyzing his work. Novelists who are any good get their
> > influences under control and go about the business of becoming
> > themselves.
> >
> > There are a number of phrases and narrative devices in Amis's work that
> > indicate a high regard for Nabokov. But, Nabokov or not, Amis would still
> > have been a novelist. And there is much about Amis's work that Nabokov
> > would
> > have disliked intensely. Amis certainly knows this, and has held his own
> > course all the same. The quote below, whether it's judged as an example
> > of
> > Nabokovian influence, or simply of Banville's skills as a novelist, is
> > unimpressive. I give Banville the benefit of the doubt to the extent that
> > what is quoted may, I hope, have simply been badly typed.
> >
> > How familiar is this narrator with English? "The first time I HEAR of
> > Mother she HAD been born in America, in Savannah, or Louisiana, or "some
> > other homonymous bayou of the Deep South," into a family OF ANCIENT
> > LINEAGE;
> > in subsequent accounts, however, the birthplace shifted to Mississippi,
> > then
> > Missouri, and once even, if my ears did not deceive me, to Missoula,
> > which
> > my atlas tells me is a town in the Rocky Mountains in the northerly state
> > of
> > Montana ...."
> >
> > This sentence is a catastrophe. "The first time I hear of Mother..."
> > Does
> > this person mean the past tense "heard"? And is it the mother who is
> > unclear
> > about U.S. geography, or is it Banville? Savannah is a city in Georgia;
> > Louisianna is a state. Louisianna has bayous; Savannah does not. Whatever
> > a
> > "homonymous bayou" may be is a mystery, but it is more than just a casual
> > narrative stmble that takes one from the bayou to the high plains of
> > Missoula. The confusion over Mississippi, Missouri, and points north
> > sounds
> > more less like befuddlement on the part of the narrator, planned by the
> > author, than it sounds like the ineptitude of an author leafing through a
> > school book, looking for some local color. The narrator's atlas says
> > (shows,
> > rather) that Missoula is a town in Montana. But Missoula is a city in
> > Montana. A small point? There are no small points. Writing novels is a
> > business of making hundreds of small decisions every day, and of getting
> > them right.
> >
> > "...where I, Melmoth the Bereft, shall journey on that circumferential
> > pilgrimage I intend one of these days to undertake in
> > search of my lost love..." This may be intended to parody Humbert
> > Humbert,
> > or it may be an outrageous and unforgivable attempt to ride on Nabokov's
> > coat tails, but an homage it is not. Nor is a cliche such as "ancient
> > lineage" somehow Nabokovian. "My LOST LOVE ...?" This is a patchwork of
> > exhausted phrase-making.
> >
> > The narrator has heard from his mother that her father was Swiss. Is this
> > supposed to make us think of Humbert's father?
> > He is "a diplomat is the foreign service ... brought up "all over the
> > place." Not exactly a sharp, definitive description. Banville can be
> > forgiven if this is intended to be willfully bad, like the short
> > autobiography that Jay Gatsby gives Nick Carraway. If not, it's a
> > gallimauffery of cliches.
> >
> > "And indeed, in her sleep she often spoke in what seemed to me foreign
> > languages."
> >
> > Where and how did this dimly imagined vagrant mother pick up these
> > "foreign"
> > languages? Between Savannah and Missoula? And what are they? Italian?
> > Ukrainian? Urdu? Or is it simply English, which Banville seems to have
> > picked up from an online corresponence school.
> >
> > "By the way ... I always take up with restless sleepers." What sparks
> > this
> > thought? Is the narrator sleeping with his mother? "About Daddy OMINOUS
> > HINTS were dropped." These hints, however ominous, seem to amount only to
> > Daddy's being a dark, sleek-haired French gentleman sort of fellow,
> > "sinisterly" handsome..." Sounds like Rhett Butler. Multi-jeweled watch?
> >
> > No. Undoubtedly the Nabokovian bit is that this cartoon is "idly fondly"
> > (fondling?) a pale little girl perched in his lap."
> >
> > Please don't tell me the last item is an "homage" to Nabokov. Considering
> > that this is such a small sample of Banville's work,
> > I will withhold my judgement. It's possible that, if there was some
> > humorous
> > intent behind these lines, Banville may not be as vague and untalented as
> > he
> > seems. But I can't say I'm in any hurry to read Athena.
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>
> > To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> > Sent: Sunday, February 13, 2005 1:17 AM
> > Subject: Re: Fwd: Banville and Nabokov
> >
> >
> > > For my money, Banville is a much better example of a contemporary novelist
> > who
> > > has deeply, and favorably, influenced by VN than the much more celebrated
> > > Martin Amis. A much better novelist as well. Banville's most Nabokovian
> > > novel is "Athena," which contains many passages that are outright homages
> > to
> > > VN, including the following:
> > >
> > > "The first time I hear of Mother she had been born in America, in
> > Savannah, or
> > > Louisana, or some other homonymous bayou of the Deep South, into a family
> > of
> > > ancient lineage; in subsequent accounts, however, the birthplace shifted
> > to
> > > Mississippi, then Missouri, and once even, if my ears did not deceive me,
> > to
> > > Missoula, which my atlas tells me, is a town in the Rocky Moutains in the
> > > northerly state of Montana, to where I, Melmoth the Bereft, shall journey
> > on
> > > that circumferential pilgrimage I intend one of these days to undertake in
> > > search of my lost love. But Missoula! - where on earth did she get that
> > from?
> > > her father, she said, was Swiss. He had been - I heard it coming before
> > she
> > > said it - a diplomat in the foreign service, and she had been brought up
> > all
> > > over the place; and indeed, in her sleep she often spoke in what seemed to
> > me
> > > foreign languages. (By the way, why is it, I wonder, that I always take
> > up
> > > with restless sleepers?) About Daddy, ominous hints were dropped; I
> > pictured
> > > a dark, sleek-haired gentilhomme, sinisterly handsome - see his skier's
> > tan,
> > > his chocolate-dark eyes, his multi-jewelled watch - idly fondly a pale
> > little
> > > girl perched in his lap."
> > >
> > > Banville, "Athena" Vintage paperback, 1996, pp. 122 -123.
> > >
> > > ________________________________
> > >
> > > From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of Donald B. Johnson
> > > Sent: Sat 2/12/2005 5:59 PM
> > > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > > Subject: Re: Fwd: Banville and Nabokov
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Thanks to Tom and Michael for these interesting connections.
> > >
> > > Best
> > >
> > >
> > > Brian Howell
> > >
> > >
> > > On Wed, 9 Feb 2005 19:29:17 -0800, "Donald B. Johnson"
> > > <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu> said:
> > > > Although I did not notice Nabokovian echoes in "Shroud", the earlier
> > > > companion
> > > > novel, "Eclipse", has a clear reference to "Lolita" and perhaps other
> > > > Nabokov
> > > > works. There is a Lolita-like girl (although no pedophilia) and a ghost
> > > > plot
> > > > that has parallels to certain theories about Hazel Shade's role in "Pale
> > > > Fire."
> > > >
> > > > For what it's worth, in interviews Banville has acknowledged Nabokov's
> > > > influence.
> > > >
> > > > Tom Walker
> > > >
> > > > Quoting "Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>:
> > > >
> > > > > ----- Forwarded message from mmillea@ifone.com -----
> > > > > Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2005 18:57:20 -0000 (GMT)
> > > > > From: Michael Millea <mmillea@ifone.com>
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Here is Nabokov-de Man link. Nabokov left Cornell in January 1959,
> > and
> > > > > Paul de Man, with his newly minted Harvard doctorate, was hired by
> > Cornell
> > > > > in 1960. Since de Man was a former Nazi and the author of a number of
> > > > > shrill, trashy anti-Semitic diatribes, Nabokov, whose views on
> > > > > anti-Semitism are well known, probably would have thought he left
> > Cornell
> > > > > at just the right time.
> > > > >
> > > > > Although I've never come across any evidence that Nabokov was even
> > aware
> > > > > of de Man, two of his creations, Professor Hagen and Bodo Falternfels,
> > > > > give some indication that he must have bumped into similar postwar
> > > > > flotsam.
> > > > >
> > > > > Michael
> > > > >
> > > > > > Andrew - you may be right there, though I just read a review and
> > > > > > apparently the critic (?) Paul de Man was part-inspiration for the
> > > > > > narrator. I wonder if there is a Nabokov-de Man link. That would be
> > an
> > > > > > interesting connection.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Brian Howell
> > > >
> > > > ----- End forwarded message -----
> > >
> > > http://www.windriverpress.com/titles/studyofsleep.html
> > > http://www.tobypress.com/books/dance_geometry.htm
> > > ? http://www.elasticpress.com/sound_of_white_ants.htm
> > >
> > > ----- End forwarded message -----
> > >
> > > ----- End forwarded message -----
> >
> > ----- End forwarded message -----
> http://www.windriverpress.com/titles/studyofsleep.html
> http://www.tobypress.com/books/dance_geometry.htm
> http://www.elasticpress.com/sound_of_white_ants.htm
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
http://www.windriverpress.com/titles/studyofsleep.html
http://www.tobypress.com/books/dance_geometry.htm
http://www.elasticpress.com/sound_of_white_ants.htm
----- End forwarded message -----