When I were not much more than a lad I read Laughter in the Dark, which
I liked a lot better than Lolita. Something I was very struck by was
the opening sentence, which summarizes the plot:

"Once upon a time there lived in Berlin, Germany, a man called Albinus.
He was rich, respectable, happy; one day he abandoned his wife for the
sake of a youthful mistress; he loved; was not loved; and his life
ended in disaster."

The rest of the book just fills in the details.

I'm not sure I can argue that this has anything to do with English
usage, but sobeit. I don't suppose I'm the only person here to be fond
of Nabokov, who had strong views about English usage.

--
Athel -- French and British, living in Marseilles for 37 years; mainly
in England until 1987.

Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:

> I'm not sure I can argue that this has anything to do with English
> usage, but sobeit. I don't suppose I'm the only person here to be fond
> of Nabokov, who had strong views about English usage.

Albeit - sobeit.

--
Bertel
Kolt, Denmark

On 06/04/24 20:36, Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:

> When I were not much more than a lad I read Laughter in the Dark,
> which I liked a lot better than Lolita. Something I was very struck
> by was the opening sentence, which summarizes the plot:
>
> "Once upon a time there lived in Berlin, Germany, a man called
> Albinus. He was rich, respectable, happy; one day he abandoned his
> wife for the sake of a youthful mistress; he loved; was not loved;
> and his life ended in disaster."
>
> The rest of the book just fills in the details.
>
> I'm not sure I can argue that this has anything to do with English
> usage, but sobeit. I don't suppose I'm the only person here to be
> fond of Nabokov, who had strong views about English usage.

Perhaps I should search for another of his books. I read Lolita only
because it was banned in this country.

--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW

On 06/04/24 21:38, Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
> Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:
>
>> I'm not sure I can argue that this has anything to do with English
>> usage, but sobeit. I don't suppose I'm the only person here to be
>> fond of Nabokov, who had strong views about English usage.
>
> Albeit - sobeit.

I would have written "so be it" as separate words, but Athel's form
makes perfect sense to me.

For me, "albeit" has a different meaning, something like "despite".

--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW

Peter Moylan wrote:

> On 06/04/24 20:36, Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:

>> When I were not much more than a lad I read Laughter in the Dark,
>> which I liked a lot better than Lolita. Something I was very struck
>> by was the opening sentence, which summarizes the plot:
>>
>> "Once upon a time there lived in Berlin, Germany, a man called
>> Albinus. He was rich, respectable, happy; one day he abandoned his
>> wife for the sake of a youthful mistress; he loved; was not loved;
>> and his life ended in disaster."
>>
>> The rest of the book just fills in the details.
>>
>> I'm not sure I can argue that this has anything to do with English
>> usage, but sobeit. I don't suppose I'm the only person here to be
>> fond of Nabokov, who had strong views about English usage.

> Perhaps I should search for another of his books. I read Lolita only
> because it was banned in this country.

I'm a big fan of /Pale Fire/, but it's certainly not for everybody.

--
Jerry Friedman

On 2024-04-06 13:31:25 +0000, jerryfriedman said:

> Peter Moylan wrote:
>
>> On 06/04/24 20:36, Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:
>
>>> When I were not much more than a lad I read Laughter in the Dark,
>>> which I liked a lot better than Lolita. Something I was very struck
>>> by was the opening sentence, which summarizes the plot:
>>>
>>> "Once upon a time there lived in Berlin, Germany, a man called
>>> Albinus. He was rich, respectable, happy; one day he abandoned his
>>> wife for the sake of a youthful mistress; he loved; was not loved;
>>> and his life ended in disaster."
>>>
>>> The rest of the book just fills in the details.
>>>
>>> I'm not sure I can argue that this has anything to do with English
>>> usage, but sobeit. I don't suppose I'm the only person here to be
>>> fond of Nabokov, who had strong views about English usage.
>
>> Perhaps I should search for another of his books. I read Lolita only
>> because it was banned in this country.
>
> I'm a big fan of /Pale Fire/,

Me too. _Much_ better than Lolita.

> but it's certainly not for everybody.

--
Athel -- French and British, living in Marseilles for 37 years; mainly
in England until 1987.

jerryfriedman wrote:

> Peter Moylan wrote:

>> On 06/04/24 20:36, Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:

>>> When I were not much more than a lad I read Laughter in the Dark,
>>> which I liked a lot better than Lolita. Something I was very struck
>>> by was the opening sentence, which summarizes the plot:
>>>
>>> "Once upon a time there lived in Berlin, Germany, a man called
>>> Albinus. He was rich, respectable, happy; one day he abandoned his
>>> wife for the sake of a youthful mistress; he loved; was not loved;
>>> and his life ended in disaster."
>>>
>>> The rest of the book just fills in the details.
>>>
>>> I'm not sure I can argue that this has anything to do with English
>>> usage, but sobeit. I don't suppose I'm the only person here to be
>>> fond of Nabokov, who had strong views about English usage.

>> Perhaps I should search for another of his books. I read Lolita only
>> because it was banned in this country.

> I'm a big fan of /Pale Fire/, but it's certainly not for everybody.

I am the proud owner of a 1980 hardbound, large-size edition of "Lectures on Literature"
which has full page pictures of the manuscript. Amazing handwritten annotations
on reading and writing, the works commented, etc.

--
Marius Hancu
Marius Hancu