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A comment on When Jawaharlal Nehru Read ‘Lolita’. Parent comment

Re:When Jawaharlal Nehru Read ‘Lolita’ by systemvoltage on Wednesday June 08, 2022 @06:47PM (#31675405)
Perhaps, one has to realize that the artistry here is clever cloaking of the most repugnant motif with the equal and the opposite - utterly beautiful prose that captivates the mind. So, in a way, Nobokov masterfully created this intense tension in the reader between the foreground and the background. If this book was a painting, it'd be right up there with Hieronymus Bosch[1], visually the most contrasting thing one can imagine.

I can see why some people "don't get it", may be there is more to it. This is my interpretation atleast and I personally think Lolita deserves its reputation as one of the greatest books ever written.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieronymus_Bosch#/media/File:T...

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Re:When Jawaharlal Nehru Read ‘Lolita’ by leephillips on Wednesday June 08, 2022 @06:59PM (#31675525)
I like your take. I agree about the status of the novel: it’s taken a permanent place as one of the supreme artistic monuments in the history of the English language. Like much of Nabokov’s work, Lolita is in part a puzzle, with traps set for the hasty reader. It may not be about what it seems to be about.
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