Comments on: Mary Roach, Vladimir Nabokov, Georgette Heyer http://www.trois-royaumes.com/blog/2009/01/16/72/ wide, wide though writhing roots Sat, 17 Jan 2009 04:57:42 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Sergey http://www.trois-royaumes.com/blog/2009/01/16/72/comment-page-1/#comment-63288 Sergey Sat, 17 Jan 2009 04:57:42 +0000 http://www.trois-royaumes.com/blog/?p=72#comment-63288 No no, you are actually right, his earlier novels are certainly less sophisticated technically. But this is more than made up for by their emotional force. The storm, the barely contained chaos in your soul, loneliness -- the very things that make us the hopeless humans that we are. His later works are more like perfectly devised chess problems. Pale Fire is one of his more abstract novels. You may enjoy it if you like artificial but beautifully constructed literary worlds. There is less of a raw human tragedy there. I actually tried to learn this poem by heart once (don't ask me why). By the way, I enjoy your posts. You a very well read and have a keen eye. No no, you are actually right, his earlier novels are certainly less sophisticated technically. But this is more than made up for by their emotional force. The storm, the barely contained chaos in your soul, loneliness — the very things that make us the hopeless humans that we are.

His later works are more like perfectly devised chess problems. Pale Fire is one of his more abstract novels. You may enjoy it if you like artificial but beautifully constructed literary worlds. There is less of a raw human tragedy there. I actually tried to learn this poem by heart once (don’t ask me why).

By the way, I enjoy your posts. You a very well read and have a keen eye.

]]> By: troisroyaumes http://www.trois-royaumes.com/blog/2009/01/16/72/comment-page-1/#comment-63279 troisroyaumes Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:09:03 +0000 http://www.trois-royaumes.com/blog/?p=72#comment-63279 Sorry, I didn't mean to imply it was less masterful. What I meant was that to me (in English translation, obviously) it sounded less experimental and like an earlier novel, though I was making vast assumptions about Nabokov's development as a writer, without much knowledge of his work. A friend actually just reviewed "Invitation to a Beheading," so it's on my to-read list. Thank you for the recommendations though! The other major Nabokov novel that everyone seems to have read is <i>Pale Fire</i>; may I ask what your opinion of it was? Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply it was less masterful. What I meant was that to me (in English translation, obviously) it sounded less experimental and like an earlier novel, though I was making vast assumptions about Nabokov’s development as a writer, without much knowledge of his work.

A friend actually just reviewed “Invitation to a Beheading,” so it’s on my to-read list. Thank you for the recommendations though! The other major Nabokov novel that everyone seems to have read is Pale Fire; may I ask what your opinion of it was?

]]> By: troisroyaumes http://www.trois-royaumes.com/blog/2009/01/16/72/comment-page-1/#comment-63278 troisroyaumes Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:06:48 +0000 http://www.trois-royaumes.com/blog/?p=72#comment-63278 Well, I don't know if they necessarily got a paper out of it, but it was the first time someone had done this sort of imaging. According to Roach, the physician in charge had pioneered the real-time imaging of male genitals, which allowed better knowledge about how to treat medical conditions such as "Peyronie's disease, in which scar tissue in the erectile chamber on one side of the penis causes painful, crooked erections". Apparently, he hoped to gain similar insight into how to treat other sexual disorders from imaging intercourse. Disorders in the strictly physiological sense, I mean. The example Roach gives is dyspareunia or painful intercourse. May I ask how you found this blog? Well, I don’t know if they necessarily got a paper out of it, but it was the first time someone had done this sort of imaging. According to Roach, the physician in charge had pioneered the real-time imaging of male genitals, which allowed better knowledge about how to treat medical conditions such as “Peyronie’s disease, in which scar tissue in the erectile chamber on one side of the penis causes painful, crooked erections”. Apparently, he hoped to gain similar insight into how to treat other sexual disorders from imaging intercourse. Disorders in the strictly physiological sense, I mean. The example Roach gives is dyspareunia or painful intercourse.

May I ask how you found this blog?

]]> By: Sergey http://www.trois-royaumes.com/blog/2009/01/16/72/comment-page-1/#comment-63276 Sergey Sat, 17 Jan 2009 01:57:47 +0000 http://www.trois-royaumes.com/blog/?p=72#comment-63276 I wouldn't say The Defense is less masterful. It's just that, as all his other novels written in Russian while he was living in Europe, it is more raw, more suffused with the undercurrents of Russian psyche. Lolita is good, but I think Nabokov is at his best in "Invitation to a beheading" written just before he moved to the US. And "Transparent things", one of his last novels. I wouldn’t say The Defense is less masterful. It’s just that, as all his other novels written in Russian while he was living in Europe, it is more raw, more suffused with the undercurrents of Russian psyche.

Lolita is good, but I think Nabokov is at his best in “Invitation to a beheading” written just before he moved to the US. And “Transparent things”, one of his last novels.

]]> By: Sergey http://www.trois-royaumes.com/blog/2009/01/16/72/comment-page-1/#comment-63274 Sergey Sat, 17 Jan 2009 01:48:53 +0000 http://www.trois-royaumes.com/blog/?p=72#comment-63274 Can you tell us what new science did they discover about the intercourse using MRI? Sounds more like a modernist art project. Can you tell us what new science did they discover about the intercourse using MRI? Sounds more like a modernist art project.

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