Comments for Peter Galen Massey's Book Blog

Comment on The 8 Best Nabokov Novels | Book Reviews by Massey by Gallivanta

Gallivanta — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:15:25 +0000

Well I thought your best Nabokov list was excellent and helpful but whether I am ready to read any Nabokov is another matter.

Comment on The 8 Best Nabokov Novels | Book Reviews by Massey by Peter Galen Massey

Peter Galen Massey — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:28:09 +0000

I always hesitate to recommend Nabokov too strongly and hope my “best Nabokov” list helps you decide if you want to give him a go. Lolita is a fantastic book, but a lot of folks have trouble getting over the child rape part — and I don’t blame them. (Amazingly, I’ve run into academic types who dismiss those concerns or say Lolita consented.) You also have to deal with the tone of arrogant misanthropy in his narrators, and the question of whether this reflects Nabokov’s personality as well, and how you feel about hanging out with a Humbert Humbert or a Kinbote all together. Then, books like Ada and Pale Fire and The Gift can really make you work, and that’s not always what everyone wants.

Comment on Re-reading “Steppenwolf” by Hermann Hesse in Middle Age by Peter Galen Massey

Peter Galen Massey — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:19:31 +0000

I’m glad you stumbled on my review of Steppenwolf, I’ve always liked that post. I haven’t re-read any other Hesse since I was in college, though I still have the books around. Maybe I should give Siddhartha a spin around the block and see how it feels.

Comment on Re-reading “Steppenwolf” by Hermann Hesse in Middle Age by Folio and Ink

Folio and Ink — Mon, 20 May 2013 03:57:32 +0000

I always loved the least popular of Hesse’s works. Damien, Beneath the Wheel, and Rosshalde, with the last one probably my most beloved.

Comment on The 8 Best Nabokov Novels | Book Reviews by Massey by Gallivanta

Gallivanta — Mon, 20 May 2013 02:21:40 +0000

The closest I have come to Nabokov is through “Reading Lolita in Teheran’ by Azar Nafisi. Probably would have been an easier book to read if I had read Lolita!

Comment on The 8 Best Nabokov Novels | Book Reviews by Massey by Peter Galen Massey

Peter Galen Massey — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:59:39 +0000

I usually pair Bend Sinister in my mind with Invitation to a Beheading, and suspect … without real proof … that VN didn’t talk them up because they both can be read as political comment, which he always says he dislikes in novels, and because they have a wiff of Kafka, and VN always makes a point of saying he wasn’t influenced by any of his contemporaries. (I think the timing of Kafka’s translation into a language VN could read might post date these novels, however.)

Comment on The 8 Best Nabokov Novels | Book Reviews by Massey by Peter Galen Massey

Peter Galen Massey — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:35:05 +0000

My guess is you’ll like Pnin and Speak Memory best. But we’ll see!

Comment on The 8 Best Nabokov Novels | Book Reviews by Massey by Mary

Mary — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:21:16 +0000

I ADORED Bend Sinister. I think it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read. Admittedly it’s less polished than Lolita or Pnin (my other favorites), but I still thought that it was absolutely brilliant. I’m glad you included it, because I feel like it’s severely underrated.

Comment on The 8 Best Nabokov Novels | Book Reviews by Massey by kiwiskan

kiwiskan — Sun, 19 May 2013 19:26:22 +0000

I have to confess my ignorance of these books. I had, of course, heard of Lolita, but not the rest. I have saved your reviews, and am going to get these, one by one, out of the library to make some comparisons.

Comment on “The Money Girls” | Poems by Massey by gdalexander

gdalexander — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:05:16 +0000

Very insightful poem. I will return to read more. Best of luck in writing and everything else.
I have a new writing blog that I created after self-publishing my first novel on the Kindle. Please check it out and share your writing experiences with me!
-G.D.