Around the word in 20 places?
The narrator of "N.P" (authored
by banana yoshimoto), in the early chapters of her novel,
describes a similar roundtrip, after losing her voice for a few weeks - to
discover the world behind words.
I just checked the List-archives after her
name and found no reference to her. I'm still in the early chaptesr of this
1994 book in which, after a few hints of older men courting young
girls, incest and synesthesia, yoshimoto mentioned "Lolita." So, once
again, a belated SIGHTING to the Nab-List which, also as usual, reached me in a
most unexpected way.
I quote from page 26 ( a faber&faber paperback): "
There's an element of Lolita in it, for sure, but that's not
all. Like the end is really magical, maybe because of all the drugs and liquor
they're doing. I especially liked the descriptions of the daughter's inhuman
beauty. It reminded me of that Doyle painting of the mermaid," I said.
The narrator is describing the ninety-eighth story
written by Sarao Takase, who wrote in English and lived in America (Boston,
perhaps) but whose writings were pervaded by nostalgia of his homeland. Three
translators of his short-stories into Japanese, like the author, comitted
suicide.
I cannot remember about how "Log" and "Logos"
appear in "Ada." The latter is not strictly translated as "word" because it
also acquired the sense of "reason." and, later, the religious
biblical creation's "Word" . What's the meaning of -L (if it indicates
"logos", would it mean "un-reason"?)
Sent: Sunday, September 05, 2010 7:10 PM
Subject: [NABOKV-L] from world to word: the alternative
way
You can also get from "world" to "word" by making
this round-the-word trip:
world - word - Lord - Nord - nod -
God - Gog - bog -
dog - log - slog - sloy - slon - slom - slam - Slav - slava - sliva -
slova - slovo
I'm not a Tiger Woods of word golf. There could be
less words between world and slovo (in fact, I
deliberately chose a longer route and made more strokes than
necessary). God means "year",
Bog "God", dog "Great Dane",
log "broad gully", slog "syllable" or "style",
sloy "layer", slon "elephant" or "bishop"
(chess-man), slom "demolition", slava
"fame" or "glory", sliva
"plum", slova "words" or "of
word", slovo "word" in Russian.
Btw., in Vladimir Solov'yov's fable Efiopy
i brevno ("The Ethiopians and a Log") a
log is worshipped as if it were
God (Russian Bog). The name
Solov'yov comes from solovey
("nightingale"). Solovey = slovo + ey (to her); slovo =
volos (hair); volos - golos (voice) -
kolos (ear, spike); golos = Logos, kolos =
sokol (falcon)
Alexey Sklyarenko
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editorial communications, without exception, are read by both co-editors.