Reviews

(in describing the unusually bitter winter in Berlin)

"And even the polar bears in the zoo found that the management had overdone it."

Nabokov is his usual lyrical genius in The Luzhin Defense. Unfortunately, something didn't click with me in this book. Our protagonist Luzhin was so boorish that I couldn't find anything I liked about him. Yes, he was a wonder at chess, but he was pretty pathetic at everything else. It was hard not to puzzle over just what the woman who was interested in him found in him.

The book is worth reading just for that passage where Nabokov compares chess to music. It's eye-opening for anyone who's ever played the game and listened to a symphony. But if your'e not interested in chess, it might be hard to enjoy this book as much.

tasama_mara's review against another edition

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reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

ars18's review against another edition

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3.0

В переводе роман, наверное, покажется гениальным произведением, но если читать на русском, то нельзя не заметить всей напыщенности слога и того, что каждым предложением разлюбезный Владимир Владимирович хочет показать, как же хорошо он пишет (нет)