Kjdick's review
Pnin (Everyman's Library) by Vladimir Nabokov
i am living in vidin bulgaria teaching English literature to bulgarian high school students-- so synchronistic to read about Pnin telling stories to his class in an attempt to join their worlds and fuel their passion for his language and his literary tradition. I love how little actual writing is used to illustrate the stories themselves. this is semi private or sacred space.
How can you not love Pnin -- such integrity and emotional sensitivity -- written in a way that approaches those qualities as authentically as anything i've read in awhile. And the poet-narrator in the shadows, a character who never really arrives (in a way that we can connect with him) but we fall in love with his words. there is the magic horribly oversimplfied,our love/identification/empathy for the character (Pnin) confronted unconsciously (at least for me having only made this discovery while writing) with our appreciation/mesmerization/awe of the narrator's words and vision.
How can you not love Pnin -- such integrity and emotional sensitivity -- written in a way that approaches those qualities as authentically as anything i've read in awhile. And the poet-narrator in the shadows, a character who never really arrives (in a way that we can connect with him) but we fall in love with his words. there is the magic horribly oversimplfied,our love/identification/empathy for the character (Pnin) confronted unconsciously (at least for me having only made this discovery while writing) with our appreciation/mesmerization/awe of the narrator's words and vision.
