Subject
Fw: Nabokov's 'crushed kids'
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EDRESPONSE. I suspect this is a pseudo-shocker. The "crushed kids"
presumably means teen-ages kids going to "proms" who have crushes on another
person. "Pumps of crushed kids" , I gather, refers to dancing shoes of
crushed young goatskin. "Crushed leather"
is produced by some sort of technical process. Of course your meaning may
well lie in the background.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Howell" <pakmshlter@yahoo.com>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (27
lines) ------------------
> [I'm enjoying all the Ada posts, I must say. And they
> do come as a surprise.]
>
> There is a phrase in Lolita that sticks in my memory
> (Part I, Chapter 25) as possibly being even more
> sinister than I think it is: 'pumps of crushed kid for
> crushed kids'. These are some of the items he is
> perusing in a clothes shop in Parkington as he kills
> time waiting for Lolita to return to Camp Q. I just
> wonder what exactly he means by 'crushed kids'. He
> constantly reminds the reader of the evil he is doing
> and just as constantly makes excuses for it, but
> rarely does he seem to take outright pleasure in a
> state of affairs that brings pain to someone. That at
> least is my interpretation. Any thoughts on this
> extraordinary punning phrase?
>
> Brian
>
> =====
> http://www.elasticpress.com/sound_of_white_ants.htm
> http://www.tobypress.com/books/dance_geometry.htm
>
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presumably means teen-ages kids going to "proms" who have crushes on another
person. "Pumps of crushed kids" , I gather, refers to dancing shoes of
crushed young goatskin. "Crushed leather"
is produced by some sort of technical process. Of course your meaning may
well lie in the background.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Howell" <pakmshlter@yahoo.com>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (27
lines) ------------------
> [I'm enjoying all the Ada posts, I must say. And they
> do come as a surprise.]
>
> There is a phrase in Lolita that sticks in my memory
> (Part I, Chapter 25) as possibly being even more
> sinister than I think it is: 'pumps of crushed kid for
> crushed kids'. These are some of the items he is
> perusing in a clothes shop in Parkington as he kills
> time waiting for Lolita to return to Camp Q. I just
> wonder what exactly he means by 'crushed kids'. He
> constantly reminds the reader of the evil he is doing
> and just as constantly makes excuses for it, but
> rarely does he seem to take outright pleasure in a
> state of affairs that brings pain to someone. That at
> least is my interpretation. Any thoughts on this
> extraordinary punning phrase?
>
> Brian
>
> =====
> http://www.elasticpress.com/sound_of_white_ants.htm
> http://www.tobypress.com/books/dance_geometry.htm
>
------------------------------------------------