Lectures on Literature
by Vladimir Nabokov
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Book Summary Information
Author: Vladimir NabokovEditor: Fredson Bowers
Introduction: John Updike
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-12-16
ISBN: 0156027755
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Mariner Books
Book Reviews of Lectures on Literature
Book Review: Classic lit criticism
Summary: 5 Stars
Excellent and brilliantly witty and dry series of lecture courses on literature from the master, Vladimir Nabokov. In this volume, Nabokov fights against all interpretive lenses, he denounces the sociological, political, and autobiographical perspectives on literature, arguing that a true reader should pay attention to the detail of the author's narrative, to the artistry and creativity, and not get drawn into banal generalizations. He writes that "the novels in this series are supreme fairy tales" (pg. 2).
According to Nabokov, good reader should:
1. Have an imagination
2. Have a memory
3. Have a dictionary
4. Have some artistic sense
In this volume, Nabokov lectures on a wide variety of great literature, including Jane Austin's `Mansfield Park,' Charles Dickens' `Bleak House,' `Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (an unusual choice at the time), `Madame Bovary' by Flaubert, Proust's great `a la recherché,' `the Metamorphosis,' by Kafka, `Ulysses,' by Joyce, and an excellent essay called `The Art of Literature and Commensense.'
This volume is filled with pleasurable surprises, especially the marvelous facsimiles of Nabokov's lecture preparations with complete annotations, and many wonderful diagrams and illustrations of the works analyzed. He has some great drawings of Gregor Samsa the beetle, and the floor-map of his apartment. It really helps the reader appreciate the work unlike the bulk of literary criticism, which seeks to mystify and empower the interpreter. This is a true appreciation of the novel form, and a classic of lit criticism from one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. His depth and breadth of understanding and attention to detail will astound you.
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