epicpinkfluffyunicorn's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
the beginning is so good but chapter 4 is so bad and the book begins dragging consequently. a very big letdown, esp since i liked pnin so much
cannibalpeach's review against another edition
i moved house and lost it somewhere lol
sarapalooza's review against another edition
3.0
The Gift
Vladimir Nabokov
.
What this book lacks in length, it makes up for in denseness. I was very excited to crack the binding, as I’d heard it was packed with references to the Golden Age of Russian literature. While this was true, and it was a beautifully written book, for some reason, I didn’t feel for his characters or their journeys the way I usually do. This may definitely be a book one appreciates more with study, and I have already read some texts designed to illuminate and better describe the references.
This is described as his most difficult book, and of the four books of his I’ve read so far, I agree wholeheartedly.
.
Certainly a towering achievement and fascinating insight into Nabokov (as it’s to some degree influenced by his early life), but personally, not an “axe for the frozen sea inside” as Kafka would say.
.
#vladimirnabokov #thegift
Vladimir Nabokov
.
What this book lacks in length, it makes up for in denseness. I was very excited to crack the binding, as I’d heard it was packed with references to the Golden Age of Russian literature. While this was true, and it was a beautifully written book, for some reason, I didn’t feel for his characters or their journeys the way I usually do. This may definitely be a book one appreciates more with study, and I have already read some texts designed to illuminate and better describe the references.
This is described as his most difficult book, and of the four books of his I’ve read so far, I agree wholeheartedly.
.
Certainly a towering achievement and fascinating insight into Nabokov (as it’s to some degree influenced by his early life), but personally, not an “axe for the frozen sea inside” as Kafka would say.
.
#vladimirnabokov #thegift
technomage's review against another edition
3.0
This was hard but rewarding and while I don't quite know what I have just read is about I will probably return to it for a second reading. I did however skip the addenda about butterflies.
dusanst's review against another edition
1.0
mama mi je pricala da je u njeno vreme filoloskim fakultetom kruzila glasina da su vladimiru nabokovu hirurski otklonjena dva reda rebara kako bi sebi lakse popusio kurac
gray_mullen's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
chloeisconscious's review against another edition
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
maximizer's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
casparb's review against another edition
unspeakably russian I love it
you'd better come equipped with your Cambridge history to russian lit because guess what we're getting niche
much love thank you so much ciel !
you'd better come equipped with your Cambridge history to russian lit because guess what we're getting niche
much love thank you so much ciel !
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
‘Give me your hand, dear reader, and let’s go into the forest together.’
This is the last book Vladimir Nabokov wrote in what he called his ‘untrammelled, rich, and infinitely docile Russian tongue’. The story of Fyodor Konstantinovich Godunov-Cherdyntsev, a young Russian émigré aristocrat in Berlin, told in this novel is both a personal journey and a reflection of Russia’s past. Nabokov provides a brief synopsis in his foreword:
‘The plot of Chapter One centers in Fyodor’s poems. Chapter Two is a surge toward Pushkin in Fyodor’s literary progress and contains his attempt to describe his father’s zoological explorations. Chapter Three shifts to Gogol, but its real hub is the love poem dedicated to Zina. Fyodor’s book on Chernyshevsky, a spiral within a sonnet, takes care of Chapter Four. The last chapter combines all the preceding themes and adumbrates the book Fyodor dreams of writing someday: The Gift.’
I would need to read this book at least two more times to fully appreciate it. It is not a novel to be devoured quickly, it deserves to be savoured slowly. On this, my first read, I simply enjoyed Nabokov’s use of language both as he describes Fyodor’s progress and as he lampoons Nikolai Chernyshevsky (1828-1889) in the ‘spiral within a sonnet’. It’s beautifully done, the way that Nabokov works a biography of Chernyshevsky into his novel, contrasting two quite different Russias but with some shared shortcomings.
‘Existence is thus an eternal transformation of the future into the past – an essentially phantom process – a mere reflection of the material metamorphosis taking place within us.’
And when the novel ends, will Fyodor’s success continue? Will he and Zina be happy? Or will his (and their) moment be brief, like the butterflies? We have seen Fyodor evolve for self-indulgent idleness to focussed observer: one of his roles in the book is complete; the other is neatly transferred to the reader. Or so I think, on this reading.
‘Good-bye, my book!’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
This is the last book Vladimir Nabokov wrote in what he called his ‘untrammelled, rich, and infinitely docile Russian tongue’. The story of Fyodor Konstantinovich Godunov-Cherdyntsev, a young Russian émigré aristocrat in Berlin, told in this novel is both a personal journey and a reflection of Russia’s past. Nabokov provides a brief synopsis in his foreword:
‘The plot of Chapter One centers in Fyodor’s poems. Chapter Two is a surge toward Pushkin in Fyodor’s literary progress and contains his attempt to describe his father’s zoological explorations. Chapter Three shifts to Gogol, but its real hub is the love poem dedicated to Zina. Fyodor’s book on Chernyshevsky, a spiral within a sonnet, takes care of Chapter Four. The last chapter combines all the preceding themes and adumbrates the book Fyodor dreams of writing someday: The Gift.’
I would need to read this book at least two more times to fully appreciate it. It is not a novel to be devoured quickly, it deserves to be savoured slowly. On this, my first read, I simply enjoyed Nabokov’s use of language both as he describes Fyodor’s progress and as he lampoons Nikolai Chernyshevsky (1828-1889) in the ‘spiral within a sonnet’. It’s beautifully done, the way that Nabokov works a biography of Chernyshevsky into his novel, contrasting two quite different Russias but with some shared shortcomings.
‘Existence is thus an eternal transformation of the future into the past – an essentially phantom process – a mere reflection of the material metamorphosis taking place within us.’
And when the novel ends, will Fyodor’s success continue? Will he and Zina be happy? Or will his (and their) moment be brief, like the butterflies? We have seen Fyodor evolve for self-indulgent idleness to focussed observer: one of his roles in the book is complete; the other is neatly transferred to the reader. Or so I think, on this reading.
‘Good-bye, my book!’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith