Friday, April 2, 2010

Book Beginnings Friday: Lolita

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by Becky at Page Turners. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading. If you like, share with everyone why you do, or do not, like the sentence.

"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins."

This is probably one of the cheesiest opening lines, ever!  First of all, it doesn't tell me anything I don't already know from pop culture and the cover.  Secondly, it's all cliche.  There is nothing new or inventive about "...light of my life, fire of my loins."  These trite phrases can be found in just about any book, poem, or song lyric picked at random.

I already know that Nabokov is a master of prose, but this opening sentence is not his best...

2 comments:

  1. Well it certainly grabs your attention. :)

    I had no idea that this was the opening sentence to Nabakov's Lolita. When I read the sentence I honestly believed it must be the first line in a humorous romance or something where Lolita is about to roll her eyes and rebuff the idiot spouting the lines.

    I hope you enjoy the book and that the sentences improve a lot.

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  2. It is a bit cheesy - I hope it gets better from there.

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