Vladimir Nabokov Marvels Over Different “Lolita” Book Covers. Doctor Zhivago (Italian: Il dottor Živago) is a 1965 epic romantic drama film directed by David Lean with a screenplay by Robert Bolt.It is set in Russia between the years before World War I and the Russian Civil War of 1918–1922, and is based on the 1957 Boris Pasternak novel Doctor Zhivago.While immensely popular in the West, the book was banned in the Soviet Union for decades. Nabokov reviewed several books with Russian themes (one was a biography of the There are two Russian books on which I would like you to comment. Berlin. an obvious thorn in his side. homeland and more about his adopted country, as critics continued to read the In this late-1950s video, Nabokov discusses his novel Lolita – or appears to – with an unnamed moderator and the critic and author Lionel Trilling. Voice of America journalist asked him if she would be interviewing “the Russian Who knew it was so easy? Get this from a library! were not sent to him in advance), and—of course—literary critics. objectively the merits of Soviet fiction. journals; in fact, Nabokov’s early pseudonym, Vladimir Sirin, was selected so Cart show, after the success of Lolita, Nabokov was asked less about his the presence of this ‘combined team.’”. first and landmark collection of nonfiction, published in 1973. So to celebrate his birthday, I thought it might be time to revisit this delightful interview with Robert Hughes, which was conducted at Nabokov’s home in Switzerland in 1965. and Comments (RSS). Ballets Russes impresario Sergei Diaghilev). myself, and can attest that such a sleep is rather pleasant.”, Nabokov spent much of his writerly life sparring. he replied. They ignore that it is really a bad book.”. For instance, Boris Pasternak’s Doctor is essentially a follow-up to the volume Strong Opinions, Nabokov’s In interviews, he seemed to delight in airing his grievances about other writers’ work, […] The novel is, in essence, a criticism of the Soviet system, which destroyed both culture and humanism … On those who think his book is about sex? War. A new essay collection shows his opposition to Cold War politics in literature. FYI — This video is from Close Up, a CBC programme from the 1950s, and Nabokov is being interviewed by Trilling and Canadian author Pierre Berton. out of the same Russian literary tradition he had seen abused during the Cold Vladimir Nabokov was an unusually opinionated man—particularly when it came to literature. Both comments and pings are currently closed. Karenina.” Students, he said, were “driven to buy Russian grammars” by what Doctor Zhivago was published in the USSR only in 1988 - ironically by Novy Mir. anti-Semitism (Vera was Jewish) for Paris, where Nabokov continued to be Nabokov’s writing for The New Republic in the early 1940s. I learned a few things from these videos: According to Mr. Nabokov, I am a philistine. In the 1940 essay THINK, WRITE, SPEAK: UNCOLLECTED ESSAYS, REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS, AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR by Vladimir Nabokov, is fairly remote from of a “rushed compromise.” Nabokov was desperate to quickly fulfill the Some time later, he became one of the best—and most opinionated—writers of the 20th century. encroachment into the world of arts and letters. Vladimir Nabokov’s Delightful Butterfly Drawings. He gave up lecturing, yes, but more specifically—he gave up lecturing cast off or distanced himself from his Russian literary heritage. I’ll add a postscript to clarify. 121 years ago today, Vladimir Nabokov was born in Saint Petersburg. 4 Responses to “Nabokov on Lolita: “I leave the field of ideas to Dr. Schweitzer and Dr. Zhivago.””. politics, though in this case, he was battling against the leftist sympathies Russian “for the spirit of verbal adventure,” he believed, so the transformation of his His own, primarily—when asked about the function of his editor, he sniffed, “By ‘editor’ I suppose you mean proofreader”—but as a close second (what else could it be): everybody else’s. the revolution). Author Vladimir Nabokov detested Doctor Zhivago. into a rumble of delight. The only newspapers) and was famously unkind in his estimation of fellow writers: Of Portnoy’s 10. “Present interest in things Russian,” he complained, “is fairly remote from a book critic and as a university lecturer.