Mary is a gripping tale of youth, first love, and nostalgia--Nabokov's first novel. In a Berlin rooming house filled with an asso...
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Jan 28, 2011
Marcus
rated it: 
It's not like the Nabokov I know to write a Russian book, but despite its Berlin setting, this is a very Russian book. There's a Dostoyevsky-like dinner scene, mentions of revolutions and Cossacks, stealing money from drawers and of course plenty of drunkenness. It's strange to get so much of it from an author that despite his origins, feels so American. Still, amidst all the uncharacteristic Russianness, there is a definite hint of what was to come in later Nabokov novels.
There's s More...
There's s More...
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Jul 23, 2011
MJ
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Vladimir’s debut, pictured here in resplendent pink, is the slight tale of arch git Ganin remembering his first love—the obeisant Mary with the Tartar nose. The novel suffers from lingering descriptions of almost every strange nuance to each individual scene, written before Nabokovian prose was truly Nabokovian. This problem dogs some of his earlier work, among them Invitation to a Beheading and The Luzhin Defense in its snoozier moments.
This general qualm aside (well, it’s quite a l More...
This general qualm aside (well, it’s quite a l More...
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Dec 21, 2011
Stephen M
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There's nothing particularly wrong with Nobokov's debut, but it left me underwhelmed. Sure, there are some beautiful descriptions and a handful of enjoyable characters, but the whole time I wondered, what's the point?. Because essentially, this is a story about lost love and moving on; which it's possible that at the time this was written, it was not as much of an over-used cliché as it is now. I expected a lot more out of the genius that gave us Lolita.
Reading first books have always More...
Reading first books have always More...
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Nov 20, 2011
Hamish
rated it:
I remember hearing somewhere (or maybe my mind invented it) that Nabokov's first novel was a weak first step towards future greatness. Maybe going in with lowered expectations helped, but I ended up enjoying Mary a lot. You can tell it's his first book, in that stylistically the prose is similar to his other work, but it lacks that naturalness he normally has. Nabokov has always seemed to me like an author that never misses in his prose; his wording is always clever, clear and unforced. Here
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Apr 04, 2011
Liz
rated it: 
slight. pretty. kinda misogynist and solipsist. I fucking hated Ganin. ok, cool, we get it, the thrill is gone once you've actually fucked her, cry me a river. a repulsive protagonist can be great (e.g. Lolita, duh), but the narrative doesn't really address Ganin's extreme callousness and it seriously undermines the power of the whole book. the main point of interest here is probably the insight into nabokov's later work -- you begin to see a pattern of repeating themes and motifs. nostal
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Jul 31, 2011
Matt
rated it: 
Ugh, I really wish I hadn't started this book. I'm nearly halfway through it, and I haven't been able to keep focus through nearly all of it. It is well and smartly written from a technical standpoint, but not from a reader's. Nothing even remotely interesting happens, and, unlike Joyce's Ulysses, the thoughts put forward are neither insightful to the human mind nor even presented in an interesting manner.
Some of the issues I have with this book could be due to the translator, but s More...
Some of the issues I have with this book could be due to the translator, but s More...
Jan 28, 2010
Iris
rated it:
I really enjoyed reading this. It was beautifully paced. It does read like a first novel, or maybe an extended short story, and the author feels eager to showcase his obvious talent and many interests (lepidoptery and insects come in).
Mary is deceptively simplistic, and filled with deliberate detail. The colors mauve and yellow seem to appear only at very specific times, perfume and scent is a vital part of character, and the word "Tartar" served to link Mary with the Russi More...
Mary is deceptively simplistic, and filled with deliberate detail. The colors mauve and yellow seem to appear only at very specific times, perfume and scent is a vital part of character, and the word "Tartar" served to link Mary with the Russi More...
Sep 02, 2010
Benjamin
rated it:
Mary, the first book of Nabokov's published, is certainly not his strongest work, nor is it particularly helped by the fact that this is the only one of his Russian-language novels translated by someone other than himself. The book feels somehow not entirely connected, in a way I am not sure was intentional on the part of the author. A professor of mine described the work adequately in saying that it is not his most subtle work, that all his tricks of the narrative are so easily distinguishabl
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Jan 25, 2012
Jonathan
rated it:
Vladimir Nabokov hadn't reached the same literary maturity as when he wrote Lolita or Ada or Ador but, for a first novel, Mary still represents a gloriously composed tale that captivates you at every turn. His prose may be less opulent, his synesthesia not fully embraced, yet in its compositional frugality Mary presents much of the young author's voice - authoritative, brilliant, and rapturous.
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Nov 20, 2011
Tata
rated it: 
“Mashenka”, 1926, (“Mary”) is Nabokov’s first work, and I’m glad this was the first Nabokov’s book I’ve read.
Lev Ganin is a russian immigrant, displaced by the Russian Revolution, who lives in a boarding house in Berlin. His life is centered around a small house - among other russian immigrants with their crooked lives and dead hopes. One day Ganin discovers that his long-lost first love - Mary - comes to Berlin and happens to be a wife of one of the boarders. Ganin wants to meet Ma More...
Lev Ganin is a russian immigrant, displaced by the Russian Revolution, who lives in a boarding house in Berlin. His life is centered around a small house - among other russian immigrants with their crooked lives and dead hopes. One day Ganin discovers that his long-lost first love - Mary - comes to Berlin and happens to be a wife of one of the boarders. Ganin wants to meet Ma More...
Mar 29, 2011
Nick
rated it:
"Other than the image no Mary existed, nor could exist"
Nabakov in just 130odd pages has put into words an idea some friends and I have been grappiling with for some time: when you're in love, you create a concept of the person, which could for all you know be far from the reality. This story plays on that completely, as Ganin, the protagonist who is likeable but flawed as a person, revels in the memories of his love. The fact he hasn't seen his Mary in a long time means nothing to More...
Nabakov in just 130odd pages has put into words an idea some friends and I have been grappiling with for some time: when you're in love, you create a concept of the person, which could for all you know be far from the reality. This story plays on that completely, as Ganin, the protagonist who is likeable but flawed as a person, revels in the memories of his love. The fact he hasn't seen his Mary in a long time means nothing to More...
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May 13, 2011
Tanuj
rated it:
In Guernica, the best internet magazine on the planet, I read, in late 2010, a never-before-published interview of John Updike, in which he talked of Vladimir Nabokov – the synesthete, lepidopterist, chess-loving professeur, whose contribution to world literature is constantly talked of as tantamount to that of half a dozen or so giants – with a cumbersome and entrenched feeling of despair, for I was at that time months away from reading a novel-length work of the Russian. But the prelude to th
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Dec 07, 2011
Kris
rated it:
Vladimir Nabokov’s debut novel Mary is set in 1920s Berlin, amongst the exiled Russian community in the immediate wake of the Russian Revolution.
Yet this is no political novel, rather a very personal account of one’s first love. A brilliant series of portraits of drifters thrown into circumstances beyond any of their control allows Nabokov the scope to explore some big themes of love, desire, memory, happiness, nostalgia, freedom and belonging in interesting and innovative ways.
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Yet this is no political novel, rather a very personal account of one’s first love. A brilliant series of portraits of drifters thrown into circumstances beyond any of their control allows Nabokov the scope to explore some big themes of love, desire, memory, happiness, nostalgia, freedom and belonging in interesting and innovative ways.
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Aug 24, 2011
Jason
rated it:
Quite beautifully written, with Nabokov's hyper-aware sense of minute detail, all leading up to a meeting that, in the end, never takes place, and is dismissed all too quickly. I wasn't expecting Ganin to sweep Mary into his arms in a Hollywood-type ending, but still, the ending is so anticlimactic as to be unsatisfying. It doesn't negate the beautiful remembrances earlier in the book, but it does sting.
On of my favorite passages, from pages 59-60:
"No one at home knew ab More...
On of my favorite passages, from pages 59-60:
"No one at home knew ab More...
Jun 21, 2010
Chad
rated it:
With his very first novel, Nabokov seems to tease the reader with the notion that they're reading a Victorian romance. His language is beautifuly flowery and many flashbacks explore picturesque landscapes and the heartache of first love. But the present-day segments of the novel feature a misantrophic lead, a vapid and clueless love triangle, a sad-sack elder statesmen to whom noone listens, and a pair of obviously gay ballet dancers. Nabokov is very clear: he is no Victorian, but is indeed a
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Aug 07, 2011
Amanda
rated it:
Ganin is a Russian ex-pat living in Germany in a boarding house with a bunch of other Russian ex-pats and exiles. One of his neighbors is particularly chatty and intrusive, which bothers Ganin until the man shows him a picture of his wife, Mary, who will arrive in Germany soon. Ganin then spends the next week flashing back to an earlier part of his life, when he and Mary knew and loved each other.
Mary is Nabokov’s first novel, written when he was in mid-20s, and that definitely shows b More...
Mary is Nabokov’s first novel, written when he was in mid-20s, and that definitely shows b More...
Jul 19, 2007
Olivia
rated it:
Though Mary does in some ways foreshadow Lolita, it's missing most of the aspects that make the latter such a successful read: namely, suspense and a dynamic love situation. We have a third-person narration, but the main character, Ganin, reaks of Humbert, minus the humour. Ganin cannot defend himself the way Humbert does because he's not directing the story, and I found myself frustrated and tired of his memories, thoughts, and actions by the middle of the story.
Hearing about Ga More...
Hearing about Ga More...
May 26, 2009
Kate
rated it:
some good lines -
"Nothing was beneath his dignity; more than once he had even sold his shadow, as many of us have."
"He was powerless because he had no precise desire, and this tortured him because he was vainly seeking something to desire. He could not even make himself stretch out his hand to switch on the light. The simple transition from intention to action seemed an unimaginable miracle."
"Now, many years later, he felt that their More...
"Nothing was beneath his dignity; more than once he had even sold his shadow, as many of us have."
"He was powerless because he had no precise desire, and this tortured him because he was vainly seeking something to desire. He could not even make himself stretch out his hand to switch on the light. The simple transition from intention to action seemed an unimaginable miracle."
"Now, many years later, he felt that their More...
Jul 11, 2010
Steve
rated it:
Nabokov's first novel, written in the 1920's in Russian while in Berlin, and not translated (he assisted Glenny) until 1970. A short, 110 pp "emigre" novel.
Reads nicely, and mixes between-the-wars Berlin and memories of pre-Revolutionary Russia. An enjoyable read. Does not have the denseness of later Nabokov, but you do get a few mentions of his beloved butterflies.
Reads nicely, and mixes between-the-wars Berlin and memories of pre-Revolutionary Russia. An enjoyable read. Does not have the denseness of later Nabokov, but you do get a few mentions of his beloved butterflies.
Jul 14, 2010
Bhumi
rated it:
This book is 114 pages. How long did it take me to finish those 114 pages? 21 days.
I confess that I am a slow reader, no doubt. I see my friends on Good Reads race through books as if it is no big task, and I am amazed. Despite the time and effort I put into reading as much as I can as often as posisble, I admit that I still read at a pretty slow rate.
This being said, the rate at which I read Mary was exceptionally slow. After doing the calculation, I realized I had only More...
I confess that I am a slow reader, no doubt. I see my friends on Good Reads race through books as if it is no big task, and I am amazed. Despite the time and effort I put into reading as much as I can as often as posisble, I admit that I still read at a pretty slow rate.
This being said, the rate at which I read Mary was exceptionally slow. After doing the calculation, I realized I had only More...
Jan 22, 2012
Wonderful translation of Nabokov's slim first novel, the remembrance of Russia and lost love by a young aristocratic emigre. Mirrors episodes in the autobiographical Speak, Memory. [return][return]Poignant, tender, wistful, funny. Nabokov's writing, as always, is a work of art. 6/98
Jul 02, 2011
"On Monday morning he sat for a long time naked, gripping his cold, outstretched hands between his knees, appalled by the thought that today was another day and that he would have to put on shirt, trousers, socks - all those wretched things impregnated with sweat and dust - and he imagined a circus poodle which looks so ghastly, so sickeningly pitiful, when dressed up in human clothes."
"How can one remember what one was in a past life - an oyster maybe, or a bird, let's More...
"How can one remember what one was in a past life - an oyster maybe, or a bird, let's More...
Jun 01, 2010
Martin
rated it:
Nabokov's first was very enticing for me. The story is told in the third person which, I think, is always a nice twist as if it is a little voyeuristic, an unbiased portrait. This never really drew me in.
The writing is classic Nabokov, beautiful almost poetic words filling the pages. There are flashbacks to times of young love, which I enjoyed the most, and present time portraits of a sad group of elderly immigrants living in Berlin. As de riguer with Nabokov someone is trying More...
The writing is classic Nabokov, beautiful almost poetic words filling the pages. There are flashbacks to times of young love, which I enjoyed the most, and present time portraits of a sad group of elderly immigrants living in Berlin. As de riguer with Nabokov someone is trying More...
Oct 10, 2011
Daisyjess
rated it:
The characters in Mary were so vividly real that I forgot that the book was fiction. All the way through I wondered what would happen and tried to decide what the best ending would be, but although Nabokov's ending wasn't on my list it was so fitting that I couldn't complain.
Aug 04, 2011
Lauren
rated it:
Since I can never get my fill of Russian writers it seems- I would highly recommend this book! Nabokov has a mastery of the English language that most people who grew up speaking English cannot compete with him. Fantastic characters and totally realistic!
Jan 06, 2010
J S
rated it:
Nabokov's first is well-written but surprisingly uninteresting. Flickering in the background, occasionally one glimpses the shadow of future greatness-- but just because it is Nabokov does not mean it gets a free star. 2 stars, Vlad. How does it feel?
Sep 17, 2010
Manny
rated it:
Nabokov's first novel is a thinly fictionalized account of his first serious love affair. He then presented it as straight autobiography in one of the chapters of Speak, Memory, and finally did another, heavily stylized, fictional version in Ada.
I wonder if he would have returned to this theme again if he had lived another few years? Also, if the woman in question read any of them? I'm trying to imagine how I'd have experienced it. Would I have been deeply touched? creeped out? take More...
I wonder if he would have returned to this theme again if he had lived another few years? Also, if the woman in question read any of them? I'm trying to imagine how I'd have experienced it. Would I have been deeply touched? creeped out? take More...
Apr 14, 2011
Jaga
rated it:
Самые красивые oписание России в литературе (который я знаю). взбивающий и надрывающий сердце. Я люблю Вас Владимир Владимирович!
Nov 02, 2009
patricia
rated it:
for someone looking to read a great a nabokov book, i would encourage reading pale fire or lolita. if you're just looking to complete your nabokov reading list, it's fun.
