venus febriculosa

This eminenly readable book, published in 2007, is an insightful and satisfying glance into the world of Nabokov’s writings (in large part devoted to Lolita, but  nicely addressing the complexity present in pretty much everything Nabokov committed to paper). With chapters dealing with morality, art, deceit, lexicomania, it’s a wonderful introduction to the chess playing lepidopterist. There are some surprises here, from Adolf Eichmann being given Lolita to read while awaiting trial in Jerusalem, to a possible real life proto-Humbert, nympholept Harry Lanz, Nabokov’s colleague and chess partner at Stanford University (interestingly the Stanford Alumni magazine has published an article about Lanz in which it does not shirk from revealing his extracurricular interests. See link below).

http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2006/mayjun/features/lolita.html

First, perhaps, a word about the name of this blog, which appears in the novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.  Alfred Appel, Jr. , in his indispensible The Annotated Lolita  defines it simply as Latin for “slightly feverish Venus.” It refers, of course, to Lolita herself, at this point in the book sick in bed, quite literally with a fever. Later, Humbert tells us, “I definitely realized…how much she looked – had always looked – like Botticelli’s Venus – the same soft nose, the same blurred beauty.”  Beyond the pseudo-scientific terminology, there is something thrilling about the notion of a slightly feverish Venus, a disruption of the placidity in Botticelli’s painting, a hint of an unraveling, a loss control.

I like reading. I enjoy Nabokov. I savor interesting words.