Posted on 09/12/2018 6:51:55 PM PDT by Borges
The “space race” was a competition, but with only two rivals — “us” and “them.” And this odd partnership, or dance, spilled over into realms of the imagination, particularly the novel. In the aftermath of Sputnik three towering and best-selling works of fiction by dissident Russians — “Atlas Shrugged,” “Lolita” and “Doctor Zhivago” — were published in quick succession, crowded into an 11-month span, from October 1957 to September 1958. Today, all three still live on, each a universe in itself, read and discussed — and fought over — as if written not in prose but in hieroglyphics or code.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Does Class Babylon! fit in here?
Actually both Rand and Nabokov left Russia at around the age of 20 - Rand in 1925 and Nabokov in 1919.
DAMN OTTO CORE WRECKED!!!!
Alas! ;-)
LOL - good one. One more point for Putin...
What is there for the NY Times to like about Putin? For all the things that Putin is or isn’t, he not a communist and therefore there is nothing for the pampered editorial staff of the Old Old Old Grey Lady to admire. His effectiveness, force of character, vision and competence - there is simply nothing there for the Slimes editorial board to tune into.
But mostly among pimply faced engineering school freshmen who think that as the world's smartest people [person] they are the 2nd coming of John Galt.
“a motor that would draw static electricity from the atmosphere...”
My cat had been doing that for years.
Nevil Shute has more in common with Ayn Rand than he does with either Boris Pasternak or Nabokov. He left the UK after the war as he saw it becoming too socialist and went to Australia. Also, he started out as an aero engineer. But I suppose that he didn't fit in with author's theme of Russian authors and their influence. Although including Lolita in that trilogy is a stretch.
Both books have some rough slogging in places. I never understood why Ayn Rand had to put those borderline rape scenes into those books as they did nothing to advance the plot. But a great many passages were positively brilliant. Though the Galt speech could have been shortened by 40 pages!
***Putin is the only Russian/Soviet leader who hasn’t bewitched the NY Times.***
Maybe the Russians need a “double agent” to work for them AND the NY Times. Someone like, say, Walter Duranty.
You are being generous. That speech is about 100 pages of beating a dead horse. I always thought it could have been condensed into about 20 pages or even less.
I love the book because it was so prescient but her Atheism shows through with the crappy love-type story.
I thought this was a great piece, thanks for posting it. I might not agree with every word, but still quite interesting.
“I wish I could.” Why could you not learn Russian, well enough to read anyway? I hear it’s not to hard once you learn their alphabet.
Nabokov was intensely Russian.
Russian lit was his passion.
You see it for instance in his essays and controversies on translating “Eugene Onegin”.
Still you have to wonder how different Atlas Shrugged would have been if it had been published under its original name, "Atlas is Getting Upset!"
Or what if Ragnar had been given a cool nickname, like T-Bone.
Or if Dagney could have zinged James Taggart with a few good comeback lines, like "Yeah, well the exploding locomotive store called and they're running out of you!"
ahahaha
right!
BINGO
It's not a very good painting, one of her early ones, but this one has meaning to me. I didn't even have to tell her...she KNEW which books were my favorites just listening me talk about them over the years and watching me re-read them. That sloppy little painting is worth gold to me.
Boy, do I have it good.
Atlas Shrugged could have been much more powerful if she had hired a good editor. Could have easily pared out about 30% of the verbiage without compromising the story or message.
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