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Fw: Nabokov's Worst Novel?
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----- Original Message -----
From: George Shimanovich
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 7:52 PM
Subject: Re: Nabokov's Worst Novel?
One may argue that the answer depends on:
1) who is asking
2) criteria used, e.g: dull/not dull or understood/did not
And do we know what was the criteria used by the author to name "Kamera obskura / Laughter in the Dark" in the answer to a different question (were 'weakest' replaces 'worst')?
- George
----- Original Message -----
From: D. Barton Johnson
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 12:21 PM
Subject: Fw: Nabokov's Worst Novel?
EDNOTE. Dieter Zimmer is the editor of the elegantly annotated Rowohlt edition of Nabokov's collected works. His article (with Sabine Hartmann) "The Amazing Music of Truth: Nabokov's Sources for Godunov's Central Asian Travels in THE GIFT" appears in the current issue of NABOKOV STUDIES (vol. 7).
----- Original Message -----
From: Dieter E. Zimmer
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 1:33 AM
Subject: Re: Fw: Nabokov's Worst Novel?
The contributors to the Worst Novel thread do not seem to be aware that Nabokov himself, who certainly did not consider all his novels of equal merit (with changing favorites), at least twice designated "Kamera obskura / Laughter in the Dark" as his "weakest novel", in his interviews with Gerald Clarke ("Esquire", July 1975) and George A. Feifer ("Daily Telegraph Sunday Magazine", 15-Nov-1976 and "Saturday Review", 27-Nov-1976).
If somebody really counts "Bend Sinister" among Nabokov weakest books, I believe he still has much to discover. And are those who think little of "Glory" aware how close it is in tone and subject matter to "Speak, Memory"?
Dieter Zimmer
July 29, 2003 -- 10:30am
Dr. Dieter E. Zimmer
Claudiusstrasse 6
D-10557 Berlin
Germany
Phone 49-30-3974 0920
Fax 49-30-3974 1652
E-Mail mail@d-e-zimmer.de
Homepage www.d-e-zimmer.de