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So what is this novel about?
According to L. Jonušis, first and foremost “Pninas” is a story about Russians in emigration.
“The biographical facts of this novel coincide in a way with Nabokov himself. After all, he was born in the 19th century. At the end of the 19th century and retired from Bolshevik Russia. He also lived in Europe and then moved to America. said the translator. – But that resemblance ends there. The fact is that the novel tells how an educated Russian adapts to the United States. This character is a bit curious because he only partially achieves it. Most of the events come from his own inability to catch up in practical situations. He is an educated and even pedantic who strives to learn English in the same way. On the other hand, it is a novel about how he found the opportunity to live after fleeing Russia. “
I don’t think we will confuse him with any other literary character.
L. Jonušys also highlighted “Pnin’s desperate love, so he was determined to humbly accept any humiliation and exploitation of himself.”
“The most important thing here is a portrait of the character, created in a very interesting way,” began L. Jonušys with his reply. – In fact, it is very versatile. I don’t think we confuse him with any other literary character. “
Photo by Vigantas Ovadnevas / Žmonės.lt / Laimantas Jonušys
G.Radvilavičiūtė points out that several similarities can be found between the biographies and characters of the author and Pnin. This is reflected in the details:
“I discovered that while he was in Italy he wrote to Vérai Slonim that he had bought three oranges without which he could not start the day. Like Pnin, Nabokov did not like technology. ” According to the writer, it was the details that most intrigued readers.
We are all here in Pninai.
“As we know, the novel was written in English, which was not Nabokov’s mother tongue. The writer looked at it like an instrument. It is said that they forced him to write in English, he felt like a man with an explosive cut seven or eight fingers And it needs to survive.
In fact, they all thought that the effort to speak English had copied themselves. However, there is considerable evidence that Pnino’s prototype is a university colleague, Marc Szeftel, who taught Russian history. Of course, here is the part for every migrant: start teaching or writing in another language. As M. Szeftelis himself told Nabokov, we are all here in Pnina, ”shared G. Radvilavičiūtė.
Wikipedia photo / Marc Szeftelis
L. Jonušys: This is a warmer, more earthy, and easier to read novel
According to L. Jonušis, this novel is atypical for the writer. “It’s warmer, earthier and easier to read. His latest novels are surprising works of great postmodernism not only in his creative biography, but also in world literature ”.
The translator points out that Pnin is not yet equal to Lolita. However, Pnin is, in his opinion, one of Nabokov’s best works.
This warmth and sincerity in the novel is deceptive.
Even before that, G. Radvilavičiūtė recalled an episode from the writer’s own life. “A colleague from college met him at the party and said he liked Pnin very much. But Nabokov ironically replied that good thatand then, angry, he turned and left. In a word, this warmth and sincerity in the novel is misleading. “
“It differs from other novels in that it has the same story as the real life of Sebastián Naito.” After all, it was overhauled and it doesn’t matter that in the year after the novel was released, 77 reviews were written in English only. “Lolita’s fame overshadowed him just as” Sebastian Naito’s Real Life “was overshadowed by the events of Pearl Harbor at the time,” said G. Radvilavičiūtė.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Giedra Radvilavičiūtė
This novel also differs from others in that it is written chronologically, from beginning to end. “Many readers know what he wrote on those cards. And then he placed them according to his own plan. Probably no other work is written from start to finish, ”said the writer.
Book cover
The flamboyant narrator of the novel
After the conversation turned to the analysis of the narrator of the novel, G.Radvilavičiūtė admitted that this layer is especially interesting for her. According to the writer, V. Nabokov did not have as many interesting ideas and plots as details and structure of the work.
“I very much doubt that a reader will appear, perhaps in all of Lithuania, who will perceive the novel only once. In general, Nabokov said that it was impossible to read the novel. It can only be read. So this work is also a great work that illustrates this formula, ”he thought.
The narrator and his relationship with Pnin and his relationship with V. Nabokov himself is the most interesting aspect of this novel, said the event participant.
“The narrator is the main intrigue of the text, because until the last part we don’t know who he is,” he said. – The author gives only indications that they supposedly knew Pnin as a child when the servant brought the narrator to Pnin’s father, who worked as an ophthalmologist. The narrator had a crystal in his eye, and after the procedure, his son suddenly came to the doctor and it was their first meeting. “
“Later it turns out that he is much more meddlesome in Pnin’s life,” he added.
During the discussion, G. Radvilavičiūtė also described portraits of women created in Nabokov’s literature. For example, Pnino’s beloved wife all his life is “plush Eliza”. “By the way, the paintings of women falling in love and passionate in Nabokov’s novels are very superficial, surrounded by couches, poodles and kitschy interiors,” he said.
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