hi yawl

[chasestalling]

what a great site! hello all. what can i say about myself...for starters i'm a nabokovian...i just bought nabokov's eugene onegin and lectures on don quixote, but i am currently and thoroughly engrossed in nathaniel hawthorne's blithedale romance. what a writer! the book i plan to tackle next is herman melville's pierre indeed i plan to alternate between the two, hawthorne and melville, until i feel i'm ready to supplant the two as the greatest...never mind...

[bazarov]

Actually, Pushkin wrote Eugene Onegin:p Welcome!

[plainjane]

To quote Brian Boyd in Vladimir Nabokov: The American Years p.318:

I shall be remembered by Lolita," Nabokov predicted in 1966,"and my work on Eugene Onegin." In size and in effort expended, his controversial translation of Pushkin's masterpiece and the twelve hundred pages of accompanying commentary dwarf all his other works. He devoted as much time to making Pushkin available to English-speaking readers as he would need to compose all three of his own English masterpieces. Lolita, Pale Fire, and Ada.

[plainjane]

Chasestalling
Have you read much else of Nabokov?

And btw, welcome from another newbie. :)

[chasestalling]

plain jane,

yes i have.

chasestalling

[chasestalling]

in fact i've read all, plain jane. btw your avatar, would you be so good to enlighten me.

chasestalling

[plainjane]

chasestalling
It is one form of racemosa...I love the way Nabokov mentions the flowers and natural surroundings in his books, and if I am not familiar with what is mentioned, I'll google and find pictures. There were other ones, but this red one was my favorite.
It is mentioned in Mary and I believe in Speak, Memory as well. Evidently if grows near rivers because in Mary he mentions them on the bank that is over grown with fir and racemosa.

You are way ahead of me in reading Nabokov, I am only about half way through.

[chasestalling]

i'm not versed in the language of flowers, but if i were to pick a favorite i'd have to say petunia. pnin i think is an oak-lime-birch man. me? i'll go with maple and ginko.

[Walter]

Chase,
Hearty welcome!
Glad to see another person here interested in VN. YAY!
I've read all but two novels so far and been disappointed only once (guess which :sick: ).
Re flowers/foliage, plain jane, racemosa and syringa are the unusual ones that stand out in my mind as vintage VN . Hint, hint. :D

[plainjane]

Evidently it (Syringa) comes in lilac, blue, red and white as well. Grows 12-16 inches high (4-5m). Gorgeous!
http://i13.tinypic.com/2lcbcpl.jpg

And the asphodel from Sebastian Knight
http://i13.tinypic.com/4hcjcjc.jpg

[plainjane]

i'm not versed in the language of flowers, but if i were to pick a favorite i'd have to say petunia. pnin i think is an oak-lime-birch man. me? i'll go with maple and ginko.


I grew up with Pecan and Oak trees, so am partial to them really.
As for flowers, there are so many beautiful ones, I don't know if I even could pick a favorite. :)

[chasestalling]

jane,

whose walter?

chase

[Walter]

Just an ordinary guy, Nabokovian too, who likes to read and come to the Web for the pleasure of discussing books.

[chasestalling]

hi walter, i'm eric, a name bestowed, on halloween circa 1974, chelmsford, massachusetts. there's a story behind this and it goes thus:

a woman answered my trick or treating by pointedly asking what my name was which i was at a loss to reveal since my mask was chosen for its hideability. alas, i kept my silence and she grudginly relented to my insolent demand.

to avoid further mishaps i adopted eric. now if you care to know my real name come shop at young fashion, 3096 bailey avenue, buffalo, new york 14215

i promise i'll cut you a good deal.

[Walter]

/chuckling/ No trick, my family is full of Walters.
Many thanks! The treat you offer sounds great! Especially for summer.
With winter coming on, though, the mere thought of Buffalo fills me with awe 'way down here in the Big Apple.:santasmil I think you know what I mean. :rolleyes:
Hope the lake effect is kind to you.

[plainjane]

And here I thought it was Walter Mitty.......:lol:

As for me, I just happen to love the book Jane Eyre, but she thought she was plain, and she was right. ;)

Buffalo..../shiver/... :idea: moving to Florida soon? :)

[chasestalling]

bazarov, u nihilist. i suppose tetanus did u in. tse tse fly might be my bugaboo.

thanx for the welcome, a belated thanx as it is.

cordially,
chase

[chasestalling]

/chuckling/ No trick, my family is full of Walters.
Many thanks! The treat you offer sounds great! Especially for summer.
With winter coming on, though, the mere thought of Buffalo fills me with awe 'way down here in the Big Apple.:santasmil I think you know what I mean. :rolleyes:
Hope the lake effect is kind to you.

i just read vn's eugene onegin. i know how he feels now, i.e. eugene onegin. gosh i had no idea that interfacing via the internet would be an emotional investment to warrant worrying oneself sick over. i have alas and if i have been the cause of such feelings, why then let this pathetic post be my penance for i am a coldhearted %*& @# ! (*&^+. truly sorry.:crash:

[Adolescent09]

hello chasestalling

[Walter]

i just read vn's eugene onegin. i know how he feels now, i.e. eugene onegin. gosh i had no idea that interfacing via the internet would be an emotional investment to warrant worrying oneself sick over. i have alas and if i have been the cause of such feelings, why then let this pathetic post be my penance for i am a coldhearted %*& @# ! (*&^+. truly sorry.:crash:
I've been diverted elsewhere with other things and that promses to continue for a while now. Sorry if my silence created sudden angst. Not your fault.

[Adolescent09]

hello plain

[chasestalling]

hello chasestalling

hi adolescent. read any good books lately? let's see, at your age i was reading salinger, steinbeck and against my inclination aeschylus.

[chasestalling]

And here I thought it was Walter Mitty.......:lol:

As for me, I just happen to love the book Jane Eyre, but she thought she was plain, and she was right. ;)

Buffalo..../shiver/... :idea: moving to Florida soon? :)

plainjane if you're there....florida...i was there once...daytona beach, lovely place...they refused to serve me beer, alas, at seaworld i think it was...have you read wuthering heights?

[chasestalling]

I've been diverted elsewhere with other things and that promses to continue for a while now. Sorry if my silence created sudden angst. Not your fault.

i'll prolly have reread eugene onegin by then, so i'll look forward to a lively give and take if your cup of tea is what i think it is. until then, adieu.

[Walter]

i'll prolly have reread eugene onegin by then, so i'll look forward to a lively give and take if your cup of tea is what i think it is. until then, adieu.
Hi Chase,
The beat goes on. I am (still) hopelessly inundated with books and reading for multiple other forums (and real life). Somehow, this forum brings up the rear and only gets sporadic attention. It must be something akin to natural selection, I suppose, because I know a forum or two that I'll never revisit again. So all hope is not lost and I hope all goes well with you and yours nevertheless.

PS, The most recent books were:
The Half Brother by Lars Saabye Christensen, a magnificent novel.
The Lover by Marguerite Duras, an I-don't-know-what-to-call-it that challenges the reader with stream-of-consciousness.
Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose, a nice overview of excerpted authors' writings.
Mimesis by Eric Auerbach, Chapter 1 only, so far, a deep critique of narrative.
The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan, the story of America's Dust Bowl survivors.

PPS, Next up is:
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, to follow up Mrs. Dalloway, another magnificent novel.

PPPS And way behind, on the back backburner along with dozens of others, is:
Bend Sinister by Vladimir Nabokov, partly read.
It has been a long time since any Nabokov.

That's it 'til next time.
Cheers

[Walter]

Oops, and the most recent addition is:
American Islam by Paul M. Barrett, to keep my eye on the world