I admire Nobokov's LOLITA but do not consider it a noir
novel.
As for Juri's mention of the Jonathan Craig Gold Medal novel,
we should recall that nymphettes were practically a sub-genre
of the paperback original field in the 1950s as publishers
sought to tap into the sales market identified by the
paperback reprints of Erskine Caldwell. Gay Brewer, to single
out another Gold Medal regular, returned again and again to
the nymphette theme with THE BRAT (1957), lITTLE TRAMP
(1957), and several others.
Richard Moore
--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, Patrick King
<abrasax93@...> wrote:
>
> I think you could argue that Lolita is the
greatest
> noir novel of all time. Both the plot and the
writing
> style are perfect. Humbert is the ultimate
Cain
> anti-hero. Yes, I'd say you're right.
>
> Patrick King
> --- Juri Nummelin <juri.nummelin@...>
wrote:
>
> > There sure are Lolita copies in the fifties
and
> > sixties
> > paperbacks. I don't know if it has any
intention to
> > be so, but
> > Jonathan Craig's SO YOUNG, SO WICKED (GM 1957)
is a
> > spin on the
> > Lolita theme: the 15-year old nymphette seduces
the
> > hired gun so
> > that he won't kill her. (Does it actually
precede
> > Nabokov's book?
> > Was that from 1959? So, maybe Nabokov read some
of
> > the earlier
> > nymphette noirs?)
> >
> > I think the case could be made that Nabokov's
book
> > is noir. It's
> > about a man whose behaviour dooms him from
the
> > beginning. And
> > there's a crime, even a murder in
it.
> >
> > Juri
> > http://pulpetti.blogspot.com
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
______________________________________________________________________
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>
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