King of Grotesque

It has actually been a while already since I read Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita but most likely due to the novels rather heavy subject-matter, I could not bring myself to write about it earlier, even though I wanted to.
Of course most people, including myself a few months ago, who haven't read Lolita, still know what's it about. It must be the most famous banned classic ever. So I can't really say I was looking forward to reading it. More so, I was just curious. But from the very first pages on, I could not stop reading. I was totally captivated by Nabokov's style and storytelling with one specific question stuck in my head: How can he write so beautifully about something that is so terrible?

Usually when you read a novel, even a crappy novel for that matter, you almost automatically take the side of the protagonist, who usually is one of the good guys. Surely, famously enough, there are literary strategies to make the reader distance himself from the protagonist, such as the Verfremdungseffekt created by one Bertolt Brecht for example. Of course many authors have played around with the common idea of protagonists always being the good guys, amongst them Nabokov. Usually authors who portray their protagonists as good guys even when they are not, give strong hints about the truth along the story line; just think about Dr. Jekyll for example. Nabokov however, uses almost no V-effects and only in the very last chapters negative views are combined to Humbert's actions. The fact that the protagonist is called Humbert Humbert, a highly unusual name I'd say, is probably the most salient clue that is given to the reader as a reminder that the novel is indeed purely fictional, no matter how realistically written.

Nabokov's style was highly praised the moment the novel came out and it has not reached the classic status in vain. For the most part, the unreliable protagonist tries to persuade the reader into agreeing with his world view. He tries to assure, that it is indeed the purest kind of love that ever existed that is found between him and his Lolita. If one is not careful, one can easily find oneself falling for the narrative tricks Nabokov uses. But then again, every other page one is reminded of the horrible story line and gets nausested again just from thinking about it.

All in all, Lolita was yet another classic that amazed me on more than just one level. The style, the hypnotic story line and the grotesque situation all carry to fulfill the same purpose; to create a classic.

When you only have one story to tell...

Now this is something I previously had never ever even thought about, but there are indeed some great authors, who have only written a single novel. Somehow it baffles me quite much, actually. I mean, if you have the gift of writing very well, why only write one novel? Why not write dozens and dozens and spread the joy?

But then again, if you really only have one story worth telling... It's like with some bands, who start off with a great debut album, and after that, everything is just... lame. So in a way, I guess it is better to stop once you're at the top.

Anyhows, I have a mission. Actually the same mission has been ongoing for quite some years already. Read classics. I mean, they must be classics for a good reason, right?

So after my finals this spring term, I started off with the project again. One of the first classics I read was Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, and oh boy, was I in for a treat or what! I mean, what an amazing book. The language was almost incomparable. The storytelling was hypnotizing. The plot so vivid in my mind as I just could not stop reading once I started. 

Published in the 1960's, I bet this novel stirred up a lot of controversy in the U.S. It was not often that somebody took the side of a colored worker, after all. And what's great, is that although the novel discusses some really heavy themes, the whole story is told through the view of a little girl, Scout Finch. Timewise, the novel covers several years, and the reader mainly gets to follow the adventurous Summer times of Scout, her older brother and a friend of theirs who comes to town every Summer. The reader knows only as much as Scout, which helps build up tension of course, since a six-year-old is not always included in all the adult conversations. The plot climaxes when the attorney Dad takes on a lost-cause and defends a colored man who is accused of having raped a white girl, even though it seems like the whole world is against defending a colored man. But perhaps what makes this novel a classic even more than its eloquent language and storytelling techniques, is that it is one of those stories you swear could be true. Sadly, it has no Hollywood ending with everyone walking happily towards the sunset. It is a piece of realism that makes you sick to your stomach in the end.

Now, what made me choose this novel was the theme of colored workers' rights in the U.S.A. I had just finished off reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett before I started this one. I have to say, even though I am a bit ashamed to admit it, I did see the movie before I read the book. I tried my hardest not to, but since the local bookstore was out of copies and I just couldn't wait... But even though I had seen the movie, the book was an absolute treat. The movie was pretty great, okay, but the book went a lot deeper in so many ways.

Human rights and equality issues are themes that have always interested me, so already in that sense the novel offered a lot to my always-yearning-for-more mind. But also the language use really impressed me. As a linguist, I can't help but appreciate good language use. I mean, with a great plot and good storytelling, one can manage to write a best seller even with plain language, but when you add beautiful language to those qualities, you get classics. 

So, one time wonders or wise decisions? Well, be that as it may, I would have loved to read some more Harper Lee, and am eagerly waiting for the next Stockett novell to come out, hopefully soon! Meanwhile, I have loads on my list to read... Lovely!