Re: RARA-AVIS: Lolita

From: Richard Moore ( moorich@aol.com)
Date: 23 Jan 2007


I admire Nobokov's LOLITA but do not consider it a noir novel.

As for Juri's mention of the Jonathan Craig Gold Medal novel, we should recall that nymphettes were practically a sub-genre of the paperback original field in the 1950s as publishers sought to tap into the sales market identified by the paperback reprints of Erskine Caldwell. Gay Brewer, to single out another Gold Medal regular, returned again and again to the nymphette theme with THE BRAT (1957), lITTLE TRAMP (1957), and several others.

Richard Moore

--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, Patrick King <abrasax93@...> wrote:
>
> I think you could argue that Lolita is the greatest
> noir novel of all time. Both the plot and the writing
> style are perfect. Humbert is the ultimate Cain
> anti-hero. Yes, I'd say you're right.
>
> Patrick King
> --- Juri Nummelin <juri.nummelin@...> wrote:
>
> > There sure are Lolita copies in the fifties and
> > sixties
> > paperbacks. I don't know if it has any intention to
> > be so, but
> > Jonathan Craig's SO YOUNG, SO WICKED (GM 1957) is a
> > spin on the
> > Lolita theme: the 15-year old nymphette seduces the
> > hired gun so
> > that he won't kill her. (Does it actually precede
> > Nabokov's book?
> > Was that from 1959? So, maybe Nabokov read some of
> > the earlier
> > nymphette noirs?)
> >
> > I think the case could be made that Nabokov's book
> > is noir. It's
> > about a man whose behaviour dooms him from the
> > beginning. And
> > there's a crime, even a murder in it.
> >
> > Juri
> > http://pulpetti.blogspot.com
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
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