"For this reason, Cunningham finds the story of Augustine's conversion ins his Confessions deeply problematic. For Cunningham it seems to promulgate what he calls the Western Myth of the "Open Book and the Free Individual." [...] Augustine himself was ...deeply concerned to draw the reader through a transformative process that brought the reader closer to God [...]." Cunningham offers us a secular parallel when he suggests that althouth we are indeed guided by theory in our reading, we should also seek to listen to what we read by "letting literary texts speak in their own voice." [...] It may be that Nabokov, a writer who (despite his best efforts to the contrary) has found himself at the center of many of the recent discussions about literature and politics, has something to offer us in this regard.[...]As a professor of literature at Cornell in the 1950s, Nabokov was known for setting examination questions such as "List the contents of Anna's handbag," or "Describe the wallpaper in the Karenina's bedroom." Although few students were ever able to identify such details - Nabokov is said to have awarded bonus marks to the student who suggested that the wallpaper pattern might be 'little trains' - they were, nevertheless, forced to pay close attention to the details of the text and, in Nabokov's words, to "enter the world of the novel."  While there are many who would dismiss Nabokov's attention to details as fetichistic fastidiousness, his approach to literary criticism may provide a model for an approach to literature that will enhance the practice of liberal democracy while remaining consistent withits principles[...] Although Nabokov himself appeared to be something of a tyrant when it came to textual reading - the assuredness of his readings makes even Martha Nussbaum's readings look like fumbling, apologetic assertions - his approach suggests a way in which literature might be read so as to capture its transformative potential for individuals to think about the texts for themselves, as a precursor to enteding into dialogue with others..." pp131/32- (more on VN in "The Future of the Literary Turn in political thought..."(2007), Simon Stow, Ch.How to Read a Novel in a Democracy)