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A review by bhansy
Lectures on Don Quixote by Vladimir Nabokov
2.0
No interest in reading a mocking criticism of Don Quijote. From the foreword, the mood of the work is set clear: Nabovok hates Cervantes, thinks him a pretentious prick and wants to tear the book apart. Following up those statements, I could literally hear him sigh as he tried to make sense of Cervante's geography of Spain (who the fucks care anyway) and portrait a really unfair comparison with fellow contemporary William Shakespeare.
I think Nabokov is a superb storyteller and literary critic, however, his patent dislike and excessive snobbery forced me to look for a comprehensive study of Don Quijote elsewhere. Which is a pitty. The book is devised in a clever way, much of the commentary is actually on point and constructive, but there's the underlying feeling throughout the whole book of, on the one hand, a hatred for everything and everyone Cervantes created and the way he played out situations and characters. On the other hand, I think it's impossible to miss the respect he has for the novel and its legacy. That tension comes out every other paragraph and interrupts the reading experience. It's like dealing with a grumpy and immature child and I just can't be bothered.
Sorry (s)Noby.
I think Nabokov is a superb storyteller and literary critic, however, his patent dislike and excessive snobbery forced me to look for a comprehensive study of Don Quijote elsewhere. Which is a pitty. The book is devised in a clever way, much of the commentary is actually on point and constructive, but there's the underlying feeling throughout the whole book of, on the one hand, a hatred for everything and everyone Cervantes created and the way he played out situations and characters. On the other hand, I think it's impossible to miss the respect he has for the novel and its legacy. That tension comes out every other paragraph and interrupts the reading experience. It's like dealing with a grumpy and immature child and I just can't be bothered.
Sorry (s)Noby.