Lo-lee-ta

Lolita is the book that I finished reading last. From the time I picked it up each page has been a display of fine writing. Vladimir Nabokov has indulged so well on the craving for Lolita that every frantic thought of Humbert really makes you aware of that indispensable feeling. There is so much beauty in the book that it is difficult to grasp it all in one go but often there are certain lines which stays with you like a childhood memory. By the time I reached the last page I had newspaper bookmarks sitting tight in the traversed pages to revisit a few lines. I must also mention that so far I have never come across a more beautiful description of a tennis serve. I wish I could share that state of mind and it's expressive stream through which Nabokov had put these lines. I am sharing some of that magnificence that Mr Nabokov has left in this book and the part of the para where Lolita's serve has been described through the eyes of Humbert.

Yesterday was the last day of Jaipur Literature Fest 2012 and this one has made the news headlines quite often thanks to the many fundamentalist who are clueless but are content with it. Salman Rushdie's visit and video-talk both were denied. This puts a very  fine example of how the freedom of speech is being stifled by giving an unjustified upper hand to religious sentiment. Thankfully Richard Dawkins made it for the fest. The next book on my reading list is 'The God Delusion'. I had picked it up three years back but never got a chance to move beyond the first chapter. It seems like a good time to pick it up.