Review for Nabokov's The Enchanter

While Lolita may have been his commercial apex of his literary career, The Enchanter has by far a more impressive conclusion that doesn't disappoint with a dissatisfying ending after having endured all of the trials and difficulties of Humphert Humphert, but rather ends in the midst of the action leaving the reader to decide whether or not the anti-protagonist is caught. It is essentially Lolita condensed without all of the tiresome descriptions and nauseating plot twists, leaving the reader no less satiated with the intrigue of the novel's focus through the periscope of Nabokov's distinctive writing style. It is inherently the same story with only a shift in the scenario of the man's relation to the family, the appearance of the mother, and the predicament facing the protagonist, but the objective of his schemes are still the same: find a way to isolate the girl and make unadulterated love to her. Also it is interesting to see how the enchanter enchants since he lacks the advantage of Humpher Humphert's dashing good looks and must seek to assert his long unused charm to entice the mother into his proposition. So not only is he the flawed warped hero he is also mmore appealing to the reader's sympathy where as his successor in Lolita came across as a sophisticated pedophile, Dynisian playboy of nymphettes, which never fails to remind the audience of h is innate corruption, unlike the enchanter, who's secual preversion may be a product of his physical shortcomings. The Enchanter also begins with a tirade of sorts, an attempt to either justify his crime or seek an excuse for his absence of guilt, which may cause some readers who enjoyed Lolita's playful introductory paragraphs to disapprove, but it adds a sense of conflict over how the narrator percieves his love of young girls over how society views it, how he considers himself to metaphorically be a "pick pocket, not a burglar," is a complete turn around from Lolita's uniform dealing of the subject, where the sexual tampering of preteens is not handlesd in degrees but wrapped in a single veil of inarguable conviction. It is always villain versus society, not villain versus himself, villian versus society, society versus villian's perception o himself, and the perception fighting against the villian as the Enchanter presents in multiple variety. While it fails to be recognized as one of Nabokov's most influential achievements it neer the less deserves to be aon the shelf of any literary collection and should be included always as the companion of his beloved, Lolita.

Review for the Subtle Knife

Since all of the background information was covered within the first novel in the His Dark Materials series this heart pounding sequel immediately begins in the heat of Lyra's escape into an alternate universe where she comes in contact with her protector to-be and discovers more about the enigmatic dust and the role it plays in the fate of men. While simultaneously offering an enjoyable fantasy escapist read, Pullman's second novel in his internationally bestselling trilogy is at it's heart an allegory singling out the fall of any organization or institution that demands unfailing obedience. Within the range of his criticism lies not only the church but God himself since his followers attempt to rob Lyra's world of all that makes it worth living in. A quote spoken by Will's father betrays the philosophical conflict that rests at the heart of the novel's structure:

"There are two great powers..and they've been fighting since time began. Every advance in human life, every scrap of knowledge and wisdom and decency we have has been torn from one side by the teeth of the other. Every little increase in human freedom has been fought over ferociously between those who want to know more and be wiser and stronger, and those who want us to obey and be humble and submit." Pg. 283

Of course the controversy stems from the implication that to believe in god is to sacrifice over your freedom of living, which as an aethteist the author of this review agrees with Pullman since to believe in an ability surpassing all human ability is to admit in your own inadequacy. But Pullman does not bludgeon the reader with this suggested philosophical viewpoint but rather inserts it subtly into the fabric of the story line. Meanwhile its woven through the course of four alternating perspectives that all lead to one climatic conclusion in preparation for the series final installment. Pullman deftly crafts a modern twist on Milton's timeless classic Paradise Lost that appeals to young readers and adults alike without drawing them through miry pits of miltonian english verse. He uses the frame story so well that it gives justice to it's source while creating a genre of celestial warfare that is an original genre all his own. By the end of the book the reader is craving for more of the action that only Pullman can deliver.

Commentary on The Voyage Out

The Voyage Out is a tale about the progression of maturity in the life of one overly sheltered twenty four year old woman named Rachel. When her aunt discovers how utterly ignorant she is of the natural interactions between men and women she personally takes on the role of tutor to school her in the ways of society. Of course, the obvious metaphor suitable for symbolizing Rachel's ascent into womanhood is a sea fairing voyage where she discovers the vastness of the world she was never permitted to see under the dominion of her puritan aunts and father, who is obsessed with raising her in an acceptable manner in atonement for his maltreatment of his wife. Whether the voyage in question is leaving behind the ignorance of her youth or perhaps a new code of expected behavior she encounter's in society has yet to be seen. But certainly Woolf will not fail to clarify that before the conclusion of the novel.

TO my surprise, the voyage out was actual the final voyage, death.

Commentary on Light Before Day

Although it is not characteristic of me to discuss commercial fiction, Christopher Rice is an accomplished young novelist worthy of attention. In his third novel concerning the under workings of the underground gay community, Rice takes the reader on a journey through scattered events that seem about as related as the sun is to pluto, everything from a blackmailing ex boyfriend to a series of meth lab explosions and kiddie porn rings operated by wealthy homosexuals. But reporter Adam Murphy finds himself compelled to find the connection because of his personal interest in the as well as its offer of a chance to further distract himself to help further prolong his sobriety.
In comparison to Christopher’s bestselling mother’s work, his style is minimalistic and terse, lacking the laconic and profuse monologue like narratives that guide Anne’s characters through their supernatural setting. He’s more comfortable with interjecting modern lingo appropriate for a modern mystery novel, which sets it world’s away from the primarily historical backgrounds for his mother’s stories. He doesn’t possess her descriptive agility either and provides only what is necessary for understanding while using dialogue, action, and the narrator’s thoughts to cover most of the page. His characters are burdened with real life problems that enable the audience to empathize with the flawed protagonist, which is vastly dissimilar to the immortal tragedies and dilemmas plaguing Anne’s undead. But to give Christopher the proper amount of justice the he is due as an individual it is hardly to his credit to compare him with an author specializing in a completely distant and different drama. Although Light After Dark is fraught with an equivalent amount of drama as his debut novel, A Density of Souls here it is more subdued and obvious that his approach to it has matured since the angst driven hatred and sexual tensions of the high schoolers in his first novel. It is obvious that then he was still combating resentment and coming to terms with his sexuality, where as in his later work it is more relaxed and an accepted part of the character’s reality. Although it is far from being the authors crowning achievement, it is an incredible step of progress in his stylistic ability.

Commentary on Pride and Prejudice

The unfolding of the story through which I have read since I last reflected on its earlier contents has vastly improved in terms of its appeal and has managed to paint Mr. Darcy as a sympathetic character. The book as a whole is an excellent study of how first impressions completely corrupt one’s judgment of their actions and motivations if assessed a s a character of poor morals and it is this false assumption that leads Elizabeth to condemn him so vehemently and ultimately alters the course of the novel. At the climax when he makes his premeditated proposal if her view of his disposition had not been so dramatically tainted she would not have so quickly declined to accept his sudden offer but because of her refusal their eventual romance is postponed from blossoming into fruition and thus extends the duration of the story line. But Elizabeth is not the sole party responsible for this delay of the realization of the novel’s promised event that all of it’s rising and falling action build towards; Darcy himself is to blame for so quickly denying his admission of Elizabeth’s credibility of a potential dance partner and allows the behavior of her family members to paint her in an unfavorable light from which his pride cannot permit him to condescended to ignore even in the face of his love for her. His pride and her prejudice push them further away from one another and only when they both are willing to release their personal inhibitions can the possibility of a mutual bond between them begin to emerge. What initially appeared to be a petty romance novel has rapidly transfigured into a penetrating social analysis of human flaws preventing the unconfused attraction between two individuals from taking place.

Commentary for This Side of Paradise

The archetype male embodiment of sophistication in search of absolving his unrequited love seems to be a reoccurring theme in the work of F. Scott Fitzgerald, especially when his searching grounds are in the field of nineteen twenty’s decadence. Instead of the outlandish parties of Jay Gatsby serving as the central stage, the point of reference around which Amory and the supporting characters revolve is the erudite campus of Princeton, where the rise and fall of Amory’s social life takes place and is sent into a dwindling spiral after debauchery diverted his attention from his academics. Unlike Gatsby, whose ascent into fortune was contrived by his own means as a catalyst for reuniting him with the love of his life, and thus his plight his more sympathetic than this spoiled child who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and who’s own troubles were instigated by his own in alertness and carelessness. What does qualify this book as a must read for anyone who claims to be an expert on Fitzgerald’s work is the obvious embryonic stages of his writing style that develop throughout the chapters and the ground work laid for his iconic archetypes that serve as the foundation for his later characters. Although the protagonist may be artificial and superficially glib, his character does not remain static but rather evolves throughout a period of rejection and failure. Fitzgerald satirizes the hypocrisy of the intellectual elite’s inclination for socialism through Blaine’s resort to it as a safety net to shelter him from the reality of financial decline.

Commentary on Pride and Prejudice

Despite the acclaim Austin receives over this romantic English classic, it is difficult to transition from Woolf to Jane without the latter coming across as a precocious commercial writer playing off of the attraction of a courtship of a rich suitor warped by his own calloused behavior only to be warmed into love after awakening the affection of Elizabeth, where as Woolf dealt with the social evolution of an isolated woman whose ‘voyage out’ of her inescapable future as a discontent housewife was death itself. The lives of the Bennett’s and the Bingsleys seem care free to the point of boredom so that they have no alternative but to cultivate trifles themselves in order to stir up interest in their lives. Elizabeth thus far seems to be the only sensible character present who could never find contentment living with the haughty and lavish ways of Mr. Darcy. Darcy himself elicits only a laughing scorn for his diversion from social discretion when he chose to snub one of the most distinguished family in the neighborhood’s daughter only to become spell bound by her witty charm once he discovers the erroneous division erected between them on account of his derogatory comment on her beauty. Despite the erudite reputation of its author, Pride and Prejudice proves to be a light read and slightly disappointing in its style, since it’s generally assumed that literary classics are usually challenging reads. Perhaps the novel will redeem these initial impressions of an over exaggerated conflicting love story that cannot fail to appear nothing more than a chronicle of two opulent families generating a major fraction of the problems from their own addiction to social drama. Now in the more recent chapters the severity of the issue of the Bennett’s decline in the ranks of society has arisen to provide a sense of urgency that propels the daughter’s mother into frantically searching out the surrounding members of the aristocratic elite who loom here under the fringes of English society for a viable husband who could secure the family’s reputation and restore their lives to their former luxury. But with the eldest sister’s marriage almost a certainty Elizabeth’s relationship with Darcy would be simply a manifestation of her parent’s greed if they pursued him in addition to the confirmation of being married into the family of the Bingsley’s. Luckily, her mother has only expressed her sincere resentment and repulsion of Darcy’s abandonment of manners during their first interaction with one another in public. So although this Austinian novel is inherently a social one, it cannot honestly hope to attain the severity of Woolf’s more momentous novel where the marriage of its protagonist was a matter of shaping the character’s destiny lest it lead her into a bleak future of a spinster forced to carry the burden of life unaided. Here, the character does not have the disadvantage of being an only child nor has she been sheltered to the point where she would misinterpret Darcy’s advances. So in light of The Voyage’s Out dismal ending serving as a metaphor for release from social confinement, Pride and Prejudice takes on the pallor of a common harlequin novel. But let’s not pronounce any judgments too early lest they be strongly thwarted by the novel’s conclusive events.