Reviews

I have nothing against Nabokov. I have nothing against long poems on the nature of death. I have nothing against experimental novel forms, or even long-winded and narcissistic narrators. In fact, tell me all these things are combined in one novel and I'd think I'd be the happiest kid on the block.

But I wasn't. I thought the poem was interesting, I truly did. Not mind-blowing, but good. It was Kinbote who couldn't hold my attention. He's a tedious and pedantic character, deliberately. It's supposed to be funny, how tedious and pedantic he can be in his insanity. But reading the 'commentary,' I found myself asking: Did Nabokov go so far in his fidelity to this character as a narrator, that he actually wrote passages INTENDING for the reader to skim them, or find some way to get through them, the way we squirm through a long and dull conversation with an unfortunate neighbor?

alexandre_rl's review against another edition

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3.0

Aucun doute sur la qualité de l'écriture de Nabokov ou sur l'ingéniosité et l'originalité du projet, mais c'était quand même plutôt ennuyant. Le narrateur étant un vieux pédant qui ne cesse de divaguer, c'est souvent difficile de suivre ses raisonnements ou de s'intéresser à ce qu'il raconte. Mon intérêt se voyait ravivé lors de certains passages, mais le filon était rapidement abandonné pour reprendre le récit fastidieux des aventures du roi de la Zembla, pays d'origine fictif du narrateur. Un roman hypertextuel qu'il serait sans doute intéressant de décortiquer, mais qui m'a procuré peu de plaisir lors d'une première lecture.

maddyrr's review

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funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

3.75

roralore's review against another edition

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challenging medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

enjoyable, but definitely not easy to read. had to employ my english major skills the entire time because i have an exam on this, and i was lowkey overwhelmed by how many layers this singular novel had. you’d have to read this another 10 times to notice everything. wonderful use of the language, though.

reallivejim's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious

5.0

evil_isa's review against another edition

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dark funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

after lolita nabokov continues to push the boundaries of literature by asking once again, what if a really weird and fucked up guy wrote a book

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