"Reading Lolita in Tehran"

[fiefoe]

<The girls who read>
__ The sun and clouds that defined Nassrin's infinite moods and temperaments were too intimate, too inseparable.
__ "Is it possible to write a reverent novel," said Nassrin, "and to have it be good?"
__ (she) would experience ecstasy but not happiness
__ 'Upsilamba' - Mitra wasn't sure why the word reminded her of the paradox of a blissful sigh.
__ a poem is called "How Small Are the Things That I Like"

<Nabokov>
__ Nabokov writes in his autobiography that he and his mother saw the letters of the alphabet in color, I explained. He says of himself that he is a painterly writer. {This reminds me of this mefi post on synaethesia. I see facial expressions in certain Chinese characters, does that count?}
__ Nabokov's claim that "readers were born free and ought to remain free"
__ "You can always trust a murderer for his fancy prose style."
__ A sentence by Nabokov - "curiosity is insubordination in its purest form"
__ Humbert destroys Charlotte even as he describes her: "She was obviously one of those women whose polished words may reflect a book club or a bridge club, or any other deadly conventionality, but never her soul."

There is also a passing reference of Cincinatus in "Quicksilver".

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