Format:
viii, 252 Seiten
,
25 cm
ISBN:
0691006326
,
9780691006321
,
0691048304
,
9780691048307
Content:
In this book Michael Wood explores the blend of arrogance and mischief that makes Nabokov such a fascinating and elusive master of fiction. Wood argues that Nabokov is neither the aesthete he liked to pretend to be nor the heavy-handed moralist recent critics make him. Major works like Pnin, Lolita, Pale Fire, and Ada appear in a new light, but there are also chapters on early works, like The Real Life of Sebastian Knight; on selected short stories; and on the translation of Eugene Onegin, as well as detailed discussions of Nabokov's ideas of literature, memory, pity, and pain. The book comes fully to terms with Nabokov's blend of playfulness and seriousness, delving into the real delight of reading him and the odd disquiet that lurks beneath that pleasure. Wood's speculations spin outward to illuminate the ambiguities and aspirations of the modern novel, and to raise the question of how we uncover "the author" in a work, without falling into the obvious biographical traps
Note:
Includes bibliographical references and index
,
Deaths of the author -- Lost souls: The real life of Sebastian Knight -- The cruelty of chance: Bend sinister, "signs and symbols," "the vane sisters" -- The world without us: Speak, memory -- The language of Lolita -- The poem of the past: Eugene Onegin -- Pnin's revenge -- The demons of our pity: Pale fire -- Happy families: Ada -- Epilogue: the history of pain -- Chronology: works by Vladimir Nabokov in English
Language:
English
Keywords:
Nabokov, Vladimir Vladimirovič 1899-1977
URL:
Publisher description
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