Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0008757, Thu, 16 Oct 2003 15:23:53 -0700

Subject
Fw: VN's Gogol
Date
Body
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kenny, Glenn" <gkenny@hfmus.com>
>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (49
lines) ------------------
> Since in the book Nabokov pretty much savages every Gogol translation save
> one, and more or less insists that Gogol needs to be read in Russian,
> non-Russian-reading readers of his Gogol bio are apt to feel somewhat left
> in the dark in any case! (The one translation he approves of, by B.P.
> Guerney, is still in print in paperback. I can't speculate on how N might
> have recieved the work by Pevear and Volokhonsky.) I read it in college
> without much experience of Gogol and I loved every word. It is by no means
a
> conventional biography. Its discursiveness, deep erudition and quirky
> approach to pedagogy make it as much a work of art as any of his novels.
And
> of course it contains his immortal treatise on "poshlust." So I would say,
> just dig in. He does provide long passages of Gogol which he has Englished
> himself.
>
> GK
>
> > ----------
> > From: D. Barton Johnson
> > Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> > Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2003 5:14 PM
> > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > Subject: Fw: VN's Gogol
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Dane Gill" <pennyparkerpark@hotmail.com>
> > To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> > Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2003 12:42 PM
> > Subject: Gogol
> >
> >
> > >
> > > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (16
> > lines) ------------------
> > > Hello
> > > I'm reading Nikolai Gogol (the bio by VN) for the first time. This is
> > > something I have avoided in the past because I am completely ignorant
of
> > > Gogol's (and almost all Russian writers') work. I understand that it
is
> > > possible to understand and follow the bio/critisism without reading
> > Gogol,
> > > but I am assuming it would make the experience more enjoyable if one
> > did.
> > > Anyone care to comment? Perhaps share their own insights and
experiences
> > > they had while reading the book.
> > > Also, could someone give me a bit of info about why,when and where
> > Nabokov
> > > wrote this book?
> > > Dane Gill
> > --------------------------
> > EDNOTE. Re the last query, see Brian Boyd's biography of VN.
> >