this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2024
467 points (100.0% liked)

196

16221 readers
31 users here now

Be sure to follow the rule before you head out.

Rule: You must post before you leave.

^other^ ^rules^

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 132 points 2 months ago (45 children)

"There are two books whose final lines make me cry without fail, irrespective of how many times I read them," Rowling told BBC Radio 4. "One is 'Lolita.'"

(The other one, based on the context of the interview, seems to be "Emma.")

Like many other admirer's of Nabokov's novel of a pedophile who pursues a 12-year-old girl, Rowling loves it for the writing style.

"There just isn't enough time to discuss how a plot that could have been the most worthless pornography becomes, in Nabakov's hands, a great and tragic love story, and I could exhaust my reservoir of superlatives trying to describe the quality of the writing," she said.

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/jk-rowling-favorite-books-2016-7?op=1#lolitaby-vladimir-nabokov-19

[–] [email protected] 46 points 2 months ago (7 children)

JFC if good prose is enough to make you okay with pesophilia maybe you weren't that far away from it in the first place

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Crime novels about murders are a very popular type of book. Do you think that people read them because they'd enjoy watching murder in real life?

Also, the writing seriously is that good. I'd have completed the book if it was about watching paint dry.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Depends on the person, but in general no. Enjoying the book is fine, but it shouldn't make you okay with the morally wrong concepts it presents. I don't read a murder mystery and come out of it thinking that murder is good, just like you shouldn't come out of fight club thinking fight clubs are good.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

I interpreted your first comment as meaning that you are supposed to hate the book because of its topic as many people seem to think whenever it is brought up.

Rowling has said a lot more questionable things, though. And even written books about her insane opinions. Calling Lolita a love story makes sense, as that is the protagonist's point of view, even though the story is also many other things.

load more comments (5 replies)
load more comments (42 replies)