Scan barcode
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 !
jzelman's review against another edition
challenging
funny
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
4.0
rachelhelps's review against another edition
3.0
A bildunsgroman of a gifted Russian poet living in Germany, which includes the character's biography of a real Russian author, Chernyshevski. The politics of the whole Chernyshevski stuff was over my head, and I think I might enjoy it more in a few years when I know more about Russian literature. It's not my favorite Nabokov novel, but I've only read it once.
"he had long since realized that he was incapable of giving his entire soul to anyone or anything: its working capital was too necessary to him for his own private affairs..."
"he had long since realized that he was incapable of giving his entire soul to anyone or anything: its working capital was too necessary to him for his own private affairs..."
ru_th's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
An odd constraint, the desire to say something important, silence, vague insignificant words. Love, to put it simply, repeats at the last parting the musical theme of shyness that precedes its first avowal.
arinnroberson's review against another edition
3.0
I absolutely adored and hated this book. Hence the three stars. Equally parts beautiful, Boring, confusing and entertaining
joshmcnally's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
spacetime03's review against another edition
“ought one not to reject any longing for one’s homeland besides that which is with me, within me, which is stuck like the silver sand of the sea to the skin of my soles, lives in my eyes, my blood, gives depth and distance to the background of life’s every hope? some day, interrupting my writing, i will look through the window and see a Russian autumn.”
“oh, don’t look at me, my childhood, with such big, frightened eyes.”
“the fierce ecstasy i would experience if only…if only what? what can i do with his soul? this is what kills me…i am fiercely in love with his soul — and this is just as fruitless as falling in love with the moon.”
“with passionate impatience, he was already looking for the creation of something new, something still unknown, genuine, corresponding fully to the gift which he felt like a burden inside himself.”
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.