"There are two books whose final lines make me cry without fail, irrespective of how many times I read them," Rowling told BBC Radio 4. "One is 'Lolita.'"

(The other one, based on the context of the interview, seems to be "Emma.")

Like many other admirer's of Nabokov's novel of a pedophile who pursues a 12-year-old girl, Rowling loves it for the writing style.

"There just isn't enough time to discuss how a plot that could have been the most worthless pornography becomes, in Nabakov's hands, a great and tragic love story, and I could exhaust my reservoir of superlatives trying to describe the quality of the writing," she said.

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/jk-rowling-favorite-books-2016-7?op=1#lolitaby-vladimir-nabokov-19

[–] abbiistabbii@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Oh my God she said this on BBC Radio 4, which is basically the main, national Radio station in the UK. To put this in context, this is like if Orson Scott Card said he agreed with the Main Character in Points of Origin.

[–] Silentiea@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

...in Points of Origin

Okay, I think you need to be more specific? I really don't know what story you're referring to.

[–] abbiistabbii@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

https://youtu.be/lFUTB48dSd8

Points of Origin was a book written by John Leonard Orr, an arson investigator who, between 1984 and 1991, repeatedly set fire to several shops and woodlands. He was later caught because he wrote a novel wherein a fictionalized version of himself described how he did it, including a part where he set fire to a hardware store in which four people, including a two year old died, describing how he died in lurid detail, right down to the fact the child liked Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, saying that "it was their fault they didn't get out in time, they were too stupid".

He was suspected of being, almost proven to be the serial arsonist, but he couldn't be brought in because they needed to catch him in the act. His superiors were informed he was a suspect, and one of said superiors called the police when Orr showed him a publisher's letter for this book which basically admitted he did it and how he did it.

[–] Silentiea@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Well. I did find that book, but not the story about it. Also, TIL Orson Scott Card is rather a bit of a homophobe.

[–] abbiistabbii@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 4 months ago

Hence why I chose him as the example.

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