The Real Life of Sebastian Knight (Penguin Modern Classics)

I like its cover design and light weight. Story is also interesting to read.

Very pleased with purchase.

Nabokov is one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. He is fully in control of what and how he wants to tell his stories, and we can only admire him for his cleverness and the superbness of his language, which is full of metaphor and atmosphere.

I’m still trying to make some sense of this novel. As my sister has written, it warrants another reading. There is so much to process.And this is because the novel occupies a very slippery place: fictional biography/mystery. It is one or the other or both. And Nabokov is definitely having fun with the various conventions and forms that these two genre frequently utilize.A brother loses another brother. Both brothers are writers. Both brothers in some sense are strangers. The one searches for meaning in the other’s work. We search for meaning from the other. You are thinking that this is rather confusing without my mentioning names, but I’ve arrived at a conclusion: these names are meaningless. Most of the characters in this novel are cut-outs, they’re only loosely imagined. The one brother can be interchanged with the other, and Nabokov often plays with his layering/mirroring.It is a novel about the written word and the power of story, specifically the way a story is shaped by it’s creator. We watch as V. (which stands for Victor by the way—thank you very much wikipedia) shapes the chronicle of Sebastian Knight’s life. Or is Sebastian Knight the real brother?The reader must decide which reality to believe, which brother is the subject of this story. It seems very confusing and yet Nabokov provides this meta-narrative parody in the most simple and straight-forward ways.It is as simple as a brother seeking out the various characters of the other brother’s life in an attempt to create some kind of truth. That we the reader know this is an impossibility, only makes this search that much more humorous.Nabokov frequently laughs at his readers but I’ve never felt that more strongly than here in this novel. It was as if he was looking over my shoulder and poking me in the ribs. “Huh…uh….huh…you see that. Did you see that?!”As in many of Nabokov’s novels, not much really occurs. Tea, train-rides, conversations in a garden, and yet so much is happening behind the scenes, in between these small moments.On most book-covers for The Real Life of Sebastian Knight there is a chess-piece. The novel can and should be viewed as a kind of chess game. We see all the pieces, we see them from multiple angles, and no one is safe.My sister might have some words with me but I dare say that this novel is almost (and it’s just a fleeting thought dear sister) my favourite of Nabokov’s novels.I am not sure if I’m selling this novel properly to you, my casual blog/tumblr reader. The only way to really experience a Vladimir Nabokov novel is to pick one up and dive in. There are some things you will catch and then there are those that you will completely miss. The joy is in knowing that there is always more to discover.

Enigmatic, intelligent, a puzzlement. The superb writing will make you feel smart.