23 Followers
This book truly melted my brain, but I am a glutton for punishment, especially in book form, so this has been a good thing. This book is iconic and I will argue it is also a masterpiece right next to Lolita, or maybe a bit below it, but you get my point. In terms of structure, this story is a real winner. A 999-line poem written by John Shade is written about his relationships to Kinbote, his daughter, religion and spirituality, his life. In this sense, it is a metaliterary narrative method, since Shade and Kinbote both write about being writers and the creative process regarding writing. We, as readers, are reminded through this method that we are reading fiction. But because of this, the structure is not an easy one to follow - you have been warned, but do not let this scare you away. Then there are the multiple ways to interpret the story that really made my mind spin. I enjoy stories like this because I like to daydream and figure out what parts I believe or don't believe, but again, this is a lot to mentally chew on, so let yourself pick this up again for a second read. I'm going to again at some point.
Oct 22, 2025
This book truly melted my brain, but I am a glutton for punishment, especially in book form, so this has been a good thing. This book is iconic and I will argue it is also a masterpiece right next to Lolita, or maybe a bit below it, but you get my point. In terms of structure, this story is a real winner. A 999-line poem written by John Shade is written about his relationships to Kinbote, his daughter, religion and spirituality, his life. In this sense, it is a metaliterary narrative method, since Shade and Kinbote both write about being writers and the creative process regarding writing. We, as readers, are reminded through this method that we are reading fiction. But because of this, the structure is not an easy one to follow - you have been warned, but do not let this scare you away. Then there are the multiple ways to interpret the story that really made my mind spin. I enjoy stories like this because I like to daydream and figure out what parts I believe or don't believe, but again, this is a lot to mentally chew on, so let yourself pick this up again for a second read. I'm going to again at some point.
Oct 22, 2025
