Vladimir Nabokov

Spurred on by admiration for his novelist half-brother and irritation at the biography written about him by Mr Goodman ('his slapdash and very misleading book'), the narrator, V, sets out to record Sebastian Knight's life as he understands it. But buried amid the extensive quoting, digressions, seeming explanations and digs, Sebastian's erratic and troubled persona remains as elusive as ever. Nabokov's first novel written in English, The Real Life of Sebastian Knight is a nuanced, enigmatic potrayal of the conflict between the real and the unreal, and the futile quest for human truth.

The Real Life of Sebastian Knight

This first novel published by Vladamir Nabokov tells the story of a man, spurred on by admiration for his novelist half-brother and irritation at the biography written about him by Mr Goodman, who sets out to record Sebastian's life as he sees it.

jess

much rather straightforward opus of Nabokov I've read so far. a delightfully surreal, tongue-in-cheek retelling of some portion of Nabokov's own life. Nabokov's elucidation and verbal virtuosity still stands out despite the lack there of complexity and profoundness Nabokov usually thrives of.

An autobiographical volume covering Nabokov's first 40 years up to his departure from Europe for America at the outset of World War II, telling of his emergence as a writer, his early loves and his marriage, his passion for butterflies and his lost homeland.

An Autobiography Revisited

Speak, Memory

There's something about Nabokov's stature and oeuvre — the way he gets under your skin — that makes you want to please him by reading well. And here, reading well and closely pays off big time. We get to veer through from Nabokov's lens, of his life; human connections; nationality; his passion for entomology and chess strategies; politics; opinions on other literary authors; and other of his thematic currents. In much of this work, we feel his perspicacity, that is never hidden, but yet, subdued in the plain sight for readers to imbue; to enjoy depicting their own thoughts; as if sipping on a lavish glass of wine for every page turned.

Dee B. 

Hmmm


I hoped for more of his thought process/inspirations behind his writing but all in all it was interesting enough. His fascination with catching butterflies...was a lot. The fact that he went into adulthood trying to classify and discover species...

Interesting enough.

An Autobiography

Brock

Andrew John Kinney

Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov

Rose, Norman

A personal recollections ranging from St. Petersburg to St. Nazaire in Russia from 1903 to 1940. An interesting read with photos.

Youssef El Deeb

Katie

Michael Ernst

Basia

Aubrey Hicks

Anja Hansen

Seth Kalback

Clare B

Hellboy TCR

Roel Vandenhoeck

Irene Alegre

Neta Steingart

Deniz Erkaradağ

Nabokov's first novel in English, one of his greatest and most overlooked, with a new Introduction by Michael Dirda.

The Real Life of Sebastian Knight

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