As in:

“A dreadful building of gray stone and brown wood, it sported cherry-red shutters (not all of them shut) which by some mnemoptical trick he remembered as apple green.” – Vladimir Nabokov

Source: Transparent Things

Believe it or not, I just started reading Nabokov. I’ve resisted for many years for as many reasons, reasons I cannot remember now that I’m inside Transparent Things.

The novel itself doesn’t get the high critical regard his classics like Lolita do, but I’ve found someone who is intrigued with the concept of transparency as much as I am and that’s enough for me, for now.

What do you think of a monthly book club just for a strand of Nabokov’s oeuvre? If you don’t already feel an affinity with the prospect, I recommend reading the biography that Andrea Pitzer wrote about him.

Pitzer’s depiction of Nabokov’s engagement with the world makes his literary mystique disappear behind the brazen times in which he interfaced with early 20th century cultural and psychological violations. The effect of his experiences was a deep provocation upon which he built a stunningly deft portrayal of the systems’: political, familial, and personal, agenda around him.

-a. h

By the way,

If the book club comes to fruition, I’ll announce it in the newsletter.