Reread, Rewrite, Repeat
Some years ago,听I was invited on an editorial trip to Buenos Aires, where we were given a walking tour of the more literary areas of the city, including a bar where Polish ex-pat Witold Gombrowicz used to hang out.听听听
The tour guide told us a story about how Gombrowicz听hated听Borges and would frequently, drunkenly, rant about just how crappy Borges was as a writer.听听听
糖心传媒淥ne time, when he was railing against Borges糖心传媒檚 latest book, a drinking compatriot asked him if he had听read the book. 糖心传媒榃hat?! Why would I waste my time on trash like that?糖心传媒櫶切拇綕听
*听听
This anecdote came to mind tonight, as I was reading the opening chapter to Azar Nafisi糖心传媒檚听: Nabokov and the Puzzle of Exile, translated from the Persian by Lotfali Khonji.听
At a party for his students, he railed against Laurence Olivier糖心传媒檚 film adaptation of听Hamlet. One student asked whether he had actually seen the film, and he replied: 糖心传媒淥f course I haven糖心传媒檛 seen the film. Do you think I would waste my time seeing a film as bad as I have described?糖心传媒听
*听
Although it糖心传媒檚 not actually in there, I can imagine a scene in Rodrigo Fres谩n糖心传媒檚听The Dreamed Part听in which the Author糖心传媒攁fter his attempt to merge with the so-called God particle at CERN in hopes of transforming himself into something otherworldly, capable of rewriting all of reality over and over again听to fit his aesthetic desires like some sort of nutty-professor version of David Haller糖心传媒is lying in bed, unable to sleep, thus unable to dream, thus unable to write or live. (It糖心传媒檚 all a bit complicated糖心传媒攋ust go with me for a moment.)听
I can imagine him lying there, delivering a most scathing听indictment of cell phones, Twitter, and our tendency to write more than we read (if we assume tweeting is 糖心传媒渨riting糖心传媒 and reading is something other than emoji-interpretation)听all while taking a massive shit on some second-rate contemporary writer. Like his听archnemesis,听IKEA.听听
When he finished his diatribe, slightly out of breath, internally pleased with a few of his听darts, well aware that most of the audience was silently tweeting his comments out to the world with hashtags like #LOLAngryWriter or #OldAndOutofTouch听when someone asks him about IKEA糖心传媒檚 latest best-seller: Has he read it?听
糖心传媒淥f course not. Why waste my time on a book like that when I could spend time with Nabokov糖心传媒檚听Transparent Things, the perfect book to read, reread, or re-reread while you糖心传媒檙e here in Switzerland.糖心传媒听
*听
Nafisi糖心传媒檚 book is broken up into seven chapters,听each addressing one or more of Nabokov’s works, organized under a particular theme. Like 糖心传媒淐ruelty:听Pnin.糖心传媒 Or 糖心传媒淗eaven and Hell:听Ada or Ardor.糖心传媒 Most of the big books are all in here糖心传媒Lolita听and听Pale Fire听and听The Gift糖心传媒攂ut there糖心传媒檚 also听Look at the听Harelquins!听A late work that I糖心传媒檓 guessing some readers haven糖心传媒檛 really ever heard of, and a book that I bought at Fres谩n糖心传媒檚听urging when he was here in Rochester. I had read the title, but nothing more than that.听As much as I consider myself a Nabokov fan, there are a few books I just never got around to. (And a number that I read when I was too young, too silly.)听听
Rodrigo sold me on this book糖心传媒攚hich I still haven糖心传媒檛 read, but will before the summer is over糖心传媒攂y showing me the听糖心传媒淥ther Books by the Narrator糖心传媒 page where, instead of Nabokov糖心传媒檚 actual titles, you find this:听
In Russian:听
Tamara听1925听
Pawn Takes Queen听1927听
Plenilune听1929听
Camera Lucida听(Slaughter in the Sun) 1931听
The Red Top Hat听1934听
The Dare听1950听
听
In English:听
See under Real听1939听
Esmeralda and Her听Parandrus听1941听
Dr. Olga听Repnin听1946听
Exile from听Mayda听1947听
A Kingdom by the Sea听1962听
Ardis听1970听
A听Nabokov-phile听will see through this. (Tamara听=听Mary;听Camera Lucida听=听The Eye;听Ardis听=听Ada;听Exile from听Mayda听=听Pale Fire.) What a very听Nabokovian听game!听According to Rodrigo糖心传媒攁nd the author in听The Dreamed Part糖心传媒攊t糖心传媒檚 basically Nabokov糖心传媒檚 parody of what a听Nabokovian听novel听is.听He糖心传媒檚 re-writing himself. His books. His go-to anecdotes and narrative tricks. (Not that Nabokov really repeated himself all that often. It糖心传媒檚 one of the things that makes him such a lasting听author,听so rewarding to reread.)听
*听
I糖心传媒檓 definitely going to use this anecdote from chapter one of Nafisi糖心传媒檚 book糖心传媒糖心传媒淟ife:听Speak, Memory糖心传媒澨切拇綌which might be common knowledge, but which I hadn糖心传媒檛 come across before now:听听
During a lecture in Minnesota, when he had forgotten his notes and was forced to ad-lib, he gave his students a quiz on the approaches that distinguish a good reader. There are ten definitions, and the students had to choose a combination of four:听
听1.) The reader should belong to a book club.
2.) The reader should identify himself or herself with the hero or heroine.听
3.) The reader should concentrate on the social-economic angle.听
4.) The reader should prefer a story with action and dialogue to one with none.听
5.) The reader should have seen the book in a movie.听
6.) The reader should be a budding author.听
7.) The reader should have imagination.听
8.) The reader should have memory.听
9.) The reader should have a dictionary.听
10.) The reader should have some artistic sense. 听
In Nabokov糖心传媒檚 view, the readers should have imagination, memory, a dictionary, and an artistic sense.听
100% agree.听听
*听
Due to a quirk of how we produced Fres谩n糖心传媒檚 follow-up to the Best Translated Book Award-winning The Invented Part, I ended up spending between 7 and 8 hours a day every day last week proofing this forthcoming monster. A mere 543 pages in 6糖心传媒 x 9糖心传媒 format (probably something like 225,000 words?), 听isn糖心传媒檛听a book you can skim. It糖心传媒檚 a book that糖心传媒攊f you糖心传媒檙e going to proof it properly糖心传媒攜ou need to pay attention听constantly. Not just to the individual sentences (paraphrasing here: 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 like Nabokov said, 糖心传媒榳hat糖心传媒檚 wrong with making a reader reread a sentence or two?糖心传媒櫶切拇綕) but to听all the references.听So many names! Rodrigo糖心传媒檚 mind is听encyclopedic听in a way that makes the Internet look like an听ABC book. And taking it upon myself to do the best job possible糖心传媒攚hen you find a typo, don糖心传媒檛 tell me; I need to live with the common proofreader delusion that I糖心传媒檓 really good at this, remembering everything I found and never knowing about everything I missed糖心传媒I looked up听everything. Every name. Every word that looked like it听might听be misspelled. (Spoiler: After an hour of proofing,听every single word looks misspelled.)听
And I hunted down every quote that I could find. All the bits from听Wuthering听Heights听(this section is AMAZING), the lines from Susan Sontag糖心传媒檚 intro to听Halldor听Laxness糖心传媒檚听Under the听Glacier,听and听the parts referencing听Nabokov糖心传媒檚听Transparent Things.听
Well, actually, on Saturday, I decided to celebrate my proofing accomplishment (shhhhhhh!!! I missed NOTHING) by taking a 45 mile听round-trip bike ride to a brewery in Brockport, NY (you think Rochester is the boonies?), where had a couple beers and just read Transparent Things from cover to cover. What a book!听
*听
Back to Nafisi:听
Nabokov糖心传媒檚 last novels were received more tepidly than the others, and听Transparent Things, which came out in 1972, baffled many critics, among them John Updike. In Nabokov糖心传媒檚 opinion, 糖心传媒淎mongst the reviewers several careful readers have published some beautiful stuff about it. Yet neither they nor, of course, the common 糖心传媒criticule糖心传媒 discerned the structural knot of the story.糖心传媒澨Look at the Harlequins!听Was published two years later and was similarly greeted with review that were split between his keen readers and 糖心传媒渉acks糖心传媒 who found it less taxing than听Ada听or听Transparent Things.听
Let糖心传媒檚 pause for a second on 糖心传媒criticule.糖心传媒 It糖心传媒檚 like the BuzzWire听Listmaker听of the 1970s!听Criticule. So dismissive in such a听dickish, erudite way.听听
*听
In terms of it糖心传媒檚 basic story [SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE SPOILER-AVERSE听WHO ARE ACTUALLY PLANNING TO ACTUALLY READ THIS NOVEL]听听isn糖心传媒檛 necessarily convoluted.听It糖心传媒檚 about Hugh Person returning to Switzerland for the fourth time in his life糖心传媒攁nd first since his wife died. We read about his earlier trips糖心传媒攖he first in which his dad passed away, the second for his work as an editor in which he meets his future wife糖心传媒攁nd then听find out that, off-screen, he strangled his wife in his sleep. (His somnambulism was established early on in the book.) Also off-screen: He goes to jail for murder but is exonerated and spends a number of years in an asylum. He no longer works as an editor.听The big-name author he worked with most糖心传媒攁 very pretentious character who Nabokov has way too much fun with, having him title his book Tralatitions听and embody the truly听pervy听part of Humbert Humbert糖心传媒攑asses away.听听
All that is straightforward. But the 糖心传媒渟tructural knot,糖心传媒 at least as听far as The Author in听The Dreamed Part听articulates it, is in the narration.听Who is/are the voices at the beginning and end who are telling this story? Are they ghosts from beyond? The author? A听collective of writerly spirits?听听
When听we听concentrate on a material object, whatever its situation, the very act of attention may lead to our involuntarily sinking into the history of that object. Novices must learn to skim over matter if they want matter to stay at the exact level of the moment. Transparent things, through which the past shines!听听
Man-made objects, or natural ones, inert in themselves but much used by careless life (you are thinking, and quite rightly so, of a hillside stone over which a multitude of small animals have scurried in the course of incalculable听seasons) are particularly difficult to keep in surface focus: novices fall through the surface, humming happily to themselves, and are soon reveling with childish abandon in the story of this stone, of that heath. I shall explain. A thin veneer of immediate reality is spread over natural and artificial matter, and whoever wishes to remain in the now, with the now, on the now, should please not break its tension film. Otherwise the inexperienced miracle-worker will find himself no longer walking on water but descending upright among staring fish. More in a moment.听听
That 糖心传媒渕ore in a moment糖心传媒 is the most Fres谩n-esque听sentence I糖心传媒檝e ever read in a听苍辞苍-贵谤别蝉谩苍听book.听I糖心传媒檓 so glad that I read this book.听
*听
Rodrigo Fres谩n. Azar Nafisi. Dubravka Ugresic. Lila听Azam听Zanganeh. All writers I really like who have, more or less recently, written books that involved Nabokov in one way or another.听Which makes me want to a) read their books (which I have, minus Nafisi糖心传媒檚), and b) read all the听weird听Nabokov books that aren糖心传媒檛 taught in World Lit 101.听And the ones that are known, but aren糖心传媒檛听Lolita听or听Pnin听or听Pale Fire. Books like听Bend Sinister听that I read while working at Quail Ridge Books, right after finishing听The Real Life of Sebastian Knight.听(Which I read in concordance with听The Real Life of Alejandro听Mayta听by Mario Vargas Llosa as some sort of self-imposed nerdy compare-and-contrast exercise.)听I want to reread those,听because rereading is sort of like rewriting糖心传媒擨 have the chance to take a set of memories and rework them in ways that are more visual,听richer, more complete and听detailed and fulfilling.听听
*听
This weekend, I want to go on a 50+ mile bike ride.听It糖心传媒檚 part of my personal mid-life health crisis. I had to stop running for a while because I fucked up听my knee. Again. It糖心传媒檚 always cyclical. Feel so good, run听20 miles a few weeks in a row, dive into a pool, feel a pinch, limp for days. Get strong. Run again. Hope that it will help with the extra weight.听Push yourself. Break down. Try again.听听
For the rest of the summer, I decided to bike to break my cycle. (Ugh. #PunEverything?)听My knee never hurts after riding, no matter how far I go, no matter how far I push myself, and this will sort of kind of keep me sort of kind of in shape?听听
To give me a bit of added motivation, I’ve been biking to breweries around the area for a beer and lunch, and to read a bit before biking the return route. Thankfully, there are breweries听 now. And they all put a lot of effort into their name and brand and design. I go to (yeah, I know) a lot because I like their logo. And then there’s , which is right around the corner from my house and has always embraced a stoner aesthetic. (Their flagship beer is “The Kind,” because obviously.) plays off of the 70-foot-high embankment that was created for the Erie Canal AND because every work of art follows one of seven plots.
And then, there’s Rising Storm, which is 26 miles away (perfect for my upcoming ride) and sounds like something that you’d either see on a college basketball warm-up jersey or at a white supremacist rally.
That糖心传媒檚 a joke I糖心传媒檝e told four times today, and I糖心传媒檓 sure I糖心传媒檒l repeat it to unwitting interlocutors after my bike ride, when I糖心传媒檓 telling and retelling and reimagining my Rising Storm experiences as if life is fiction, as if life is听nothing more than a narrative to be shaped and shared with that exclusive group of compatriots who have: imagination, memory, a dictionary, and an artistic sense.听
But isn糖心传媒檛 that the way to be human? The idea of “being inhuman” is captivating to me, and I always think being inhuman as reacting instinctually, absorbing what happens to you without reflection, without letting these experiences be adopted through our imagination. We become more human the more we retell, reread, rethink, rework. Editing is a way of expanding one糖心传媒檚 consciousness. Rereading is the only way to really start to understand everything that糖心传媒檚 not听on the surface.听As is telling the same joke 40 times until you figure out the right comedic beats. 听
*听
If I were The Author from听The Invented Part听and听The Dreamed Part, I would probably work in a bit about听how the appeal of听our 糖心传媒淕olden Age of Television糖心传媒 is听partially due to the fact that no one wants to reread anymore. Not only do a lot of people listen to podcasts at time-and-a-half to get through them quicker, but they also watch these “prestige” shows on slow fast-forward, with the subtitles on.听CRAM IT IN YOUR BRAIN. Details and depth don糖心传媒檛 matter; everything is a box to be ticked, a product to have consumed.听听
Relive, rework, reread, rewrite. It糖心传媒檚 all in the retelling.听
And a genius like Fres谩n/Nafizi/Nabokov/Ugresic can transform that clich茅 into something layered and beautiful, written in a way that makes you reflect, that makes you more human.
*听
I糖心传媒檓 excited to revisit Nabokov through Nafisi糖心传媒檚 lens. She糖心传媒檚 an incredible thinker, and I love the perspective that she lays out in the intro as to why Nabokov:听
This was why my students ignored most socially committed novels but love Nabokov糖心传媒not because they were not politically committed, but because Nabokov糖心传媒檚 fiction听did not merely question politics of the day but went far beyond that to put on trial all forms of tyrannical mindset. [. . .]听
Worse still, the individuality that Nabokov and so many great American writers had cherished here has been vanishing alongside the public spaces that created bridges between our private and public selves糖心传媒攃onnecting us to others, helping in the creation of communities that offer a sense of belonging and loyalty without compromising individual integrity. That individualism has been gradually replaced by the solipsism that Nabokov so beautifully evoked in his best work, as the听archvillain听of his stories.听Surely 糖心传媒渁bsurd,糖心传媒 with all its tragic connotations, is an apt term to apply to an age identified with Donald Trump. [. . .]听
In book after book,听Pnin, Lolita, Invitation to a Beheading, Bend Sinister, Pale Fire,听and听Ada, the villains听are the solipsists, those who for one reason or another are too self-involved to hear, see, or feel empathy for others, those who impose not just their will but their prefabricated images and ideas upon real living human beings.听These new and compelling monsters are among Nabokov糖心传媒檚 great contributions to modern fiction. [. . .]听
If only there were more hours in the day, weeks left in the summer before the new semester. Although if I time this right, maybe I can finally undertake Ada or Ardor听over winter break. Seems like the right book to bring to . . .
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