Fine writing is the main attraction of this novel, set in Japan and China immediately after WW II. Individual scenes and character gestures are sometimes done with such elegance and grace that the prose verges on poetry. “Until this, war … Continue reading
Wonderful Language, Dull Story Nabokov, Vladimir. (1955). Lolita. New York: Vintage 50th Anniversary Edition. This is a book whose reputation precedes reading. Everyone knows the story of a middle-aged man’s sexual obsession with a twelve-year-old girl. Humbert Humbert, a European gentleman, … Continue reading
An Early Sensitive Psychopath Fowles, John. (1963). The Collector. New York: Back Bay/Little Brown. This novel is often compared to Lolita because it involves an older man’s sexual obsession with a young girl, but the comparison is not apt. First, … Continue reading