The Cambridge Companion to Nabokov

by Edited by Julian W. Connolly

• ISBN13: 9780521536431
• ISBN10: 052153643X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-06-20
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Vladimir Nabokov held the unique distinction of being one of the most important writers of the twentieth century in two separate languages, Russian and English. Known for his verbal mastery and bold plots, Nabokov fashioned a literary legacy that continues to grow in significance. This volume offers a concise and informative introduction into the author's fascinating creative world. Specially commissioned essays by distinguished scholars illuminate numerous facets of the writer's legacy, from his early contributions as a poet and short-story writer to his dazzling achievements as one of the most original novelists of the twentieth century. Topics receiving fresh coverage include Nabokov's narrative strategies, the evolution of his world-view, and his relationship to the literary and cultural currents of his day. The volume also contains valuable supplementary material such as a chronology of the writer's life and a guide to further critical reading.

Table of Contents

Notes on contributors	vii
Acknowledgments	xi
Note on transliteration	xii
List of abbreviations	xiii
Chronology	xv
Introduction: the many faces of Vladimir Nabokov	1	(10)
Julian W. Connolly
Part I: Contexts
Strong opinions and nerve points: Nabokov's life and art	11	(20)
Zoran Kuzmanovich
Nabokov as storyteller	31	(18)
Brian Boyd
Nabokov as a Russian writer	49	(16)
Alexander Dolinin
``By some sleight of land'': how Nabokov rewrote America	65	(20)
Susan Elizabeth Sweeney
Nabokov and modernism	85	(18)
John Burt Foster, Jr.
Part II: Works
Nabokov as poet	103	(16)
Barry P. Scherr
Nabokov's short fiction	119	(16)
Priscilla Meyer
The major Russian novels	135	(16)
Julian W. Connolly
From Sirin to Nabokov: the transition to English	151	(19)
Neil Cornwell
Nabokov's biographical impulse: art of writing lives	170	(15)
Galay Diment
The Lolita phenomenon from Paris to Tehran	185	(15)
Ellen Pifer
Nabokov's late fiction	200	(15)
Michael Wood
Part III: Related worlds
Nabokov and cinema	215	(17)
Barbara Wyllie
Nabokov's worldview	232	(16)
Leona Toker
Guide to further reading	248	(6)
Index	254