los angeles is en fuego

walked to work today. tried to reod nabokov's the gift on my way in. the writing is gorgeous the weather is beautifully in sync with the novel but I keep getting lost. I hate to cop to my own stupid Americanness but I think part of what is making this novel so dense are the character's names. I dared to wonder if this would be an easier read if the names along with the language got translated. I know I know I would be in an uproar if the same were being said of Asian or Latin names. My brain just pushes back against cold climate languages. I remember sitting watching lock stock and two smoking barrels with my british foster dad and I asked 'What are they saying?' he replied "take out the trash." so I shrugged my shoulders and started to take out the trash and he said no no that is what they were saying. I'm sure this is the most amusing thing you read all day.