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The Enchanter: Nabokov and Happiness
The protagonist of Vladimir Nabokov's The Gift playfully dreamed of writing "A Practical How to Be Happy." Now, Nabokov's own creative reader Lila Azam Zanganeh lends life to this vision with sly sophistication and ebullient charm, as she shares the delirious joy to be found in reading the masterpieces of "the great writer of happiness."Plunging into the enchanted and luminous worlds of Speak, Memory; Ada, or Ardor; and the infamous Lolita, Azam Zanganeh seeks out the Nabokovian experience of time, memory, sexual passion, nature, loss, love in all its forms, and language in all its allusions. She explores Nabokov's geography-from his Russian childhood to the landscapes of "his" America-suffers encounters with his beloved "nature," hallucinates an interview with the master, and seeks the "crunch of happiness" in his singular vocabulary. This beautifully illuminated book will both reignite the passion of experienced Nabokovians and lure the innocent reader to a well of delights as yet unseen.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
10 people are currently reading
412 people want to read
About the author
Lila Azam Zanganeh
9 books51 followersLila Azam Zanganeh is a writer raised in Paris, France, by exiled Iranian parents. She lives and works in New York City. She is the author of The Enchanter: Nabokov and Happiness.
Azam Zanganeh was born in Paris to Iranian parents. After studying literature and philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure, she moved to the United States to teach literature, cinema, and Romance languages at Harvard University. In 2002, she began contributing literary articles, interviews, and essays to a host of American and European publications, among which The New York Times, The Paris Review, Le Monde, and la Repubblica.
Her first book, The Enchanter: Nabokov and Happiness, has been published by W. W. Norton & Company in the United States, Penguin Books in the United Kingdom, L'Olivier in France, Contact in Holland, L'Ancora del Mediterraneo in Italy, Duomo Ediciones in Spain, Azbooka in Russia, Büchergilde Gutenberg in Germany, and Alfaguara Objetiva in Brazil, where it reached #10 on the national Brazilian bestseller list. In 2016, it will be published by Shang Shu in China, Everest in Turkey, and Al-Kamel in Lebanon.
She is fluent in seven languages (English, French, Persian, Spanish, Italian, Russian, and Portuguese) and is the recipient of the 2011 Roger Shattuck Prize for Criticism, awarded each year by the Center for Fiction. She writes and lives in New York City, and is at work on a new novel titled A Tale for Lovers&Madmen.
Azam Zanganeh serves on the Board of Overseers of the International Rescue Committee and the Advisory Board of Libraries Without Borders. Since September 2015, she has served as the Chair of Programs for Narrative4, a global story-exchange organization that promotes radical empathy.
Up until the end of 2011, Azam Zanganeh served on the advisory board of The Lunchbox Fund, a non-profit organization which provides a daily meal to students of township schools in Soweto of South Africa.
Azam Zanganeh was born in Paris to Iranian parents. After studying literature and philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure, she moved to the United States to teach literature, cinema, and Romance languages at Harvard University. In 2002, she began contributing literary articles, interviews, and essays to a host of American and European publications, among which The New York Times, The Paris Review, Le Monde, and la Repubblica.
Her first book, The Enchanter: Nabokov and Happiness, has been published by W. W. Norton & Company in the United States, Penguin Books in the United Kingdom, L'Olivier in France, Contact in Holland, L'Ancora del Mediterraneo in Italy, Duomo Ediciones in Spain, Azbooka in Russia, Büchergilde Gutenberg in Germany, and Alfaguara Objetiva in Brazil, where it reached #10 on the national Brazilian bestseller list. In 2016, it will be published by Shang Shu in China, Everest in Turkey, and Al-Kamel in Lebanon.
She is fluent in seven languages (English, French, Persian, Spanish, Italian, Russian, and Portuguese) and is the recipient of the 2011 Roger Shattuck Prize for Criticism, awarded each year by the Center for Fiction. She writes and lives in New York City, and is at work on a new novel titled A Tale for Lovers&Madmen.
Azam Zanganeh serves on the Board of Overseers of the International Rescue Committee and the Advisory Board of Libraries Without Borders. Since September 2015, she has served as the Chair of Programs for Narrative4, a global story-exchange organization that promotes radical empathy.
Up until the end of 2011, Azam Zanganeh served on the advisory board of The Lunchbox Fund, a non-profit organization which provides a daily meal to students of township schools in Soweto of South Africa.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
June 11, 2021
I'm at a loss to say what kind of book I just finished - aside from that it was good [rtc]
December 21, 2022
I loved this book. It's a memoir about Vladimir Nabokov and it discusses his life and literary works. But boy does it do it in a strange, intoxicating, confusing, alluring, discombobulating fashion. The whole thing is like a sort of Tristram Shandyish series of digressions upon digressions in a labyrinth of prose that I found very enjoyable. I didn't always follow the train of thought but then on the other hand one of my favourite books is "Finnegan's Wake" and I didn't understand a single sentence or clause of that either, I just enjoyed it like being immersed in some mystical foreign language of amazing sounding signifiers. So being a fan of Nabokov this one was a real page turner.
September 5, 2020
The reader if often stuck in two minds when it comes to Zanganeh’s style in ‘The Enchanter’. On the one hand her deliberate pastiche of Nabokov’s inimitable style can be charming and reflect her purpose of celebrating Nabokov’s aesthetics, on the other hand it can come across as fatuous and florid, not so much a pastiche but a pale imitation of the great master.
As divisive as her style may be, I would argue that the most important part of Zanganeh’s homage to Nabokov is how brilliantly she captures the message behind Nabokov’s books. Just like the butterflies he so loved and nature itself, Nabokov was an arch trickster; behind his posturings around his novels having no message at all, or the unreliable narration which runs through so many of his books, is an author whose works, despite their diabolical cruelty, were nothing more than celebrations of life, consciousness and beauty. That Nabokov frequently chose to celebrate life via the perspective of so many mendacious monsters, whether it be Van Veen or Humbert Humbert, is all part of his desire to create good readers, readers who notice and do not embellish, readers who are able to notice the little details which tell the true story, who are able to sympathise with the hopelessly pathetic characters, such as Pnin or John Shade’s daughter in ‘Pale Fire’, who are able to see past the superficial sense of cynicism which Nabokov imbues his characters with and recognise the beauty of the world and the sacredness of life and other people which his characters are unable to.
Zanganeh celebrates all of the important themes which run through Nabokov’s writing, whether it be nature, love, happiness or art and also poses an interesting solution to his somewhat troubling preoccupation with adolescent beauty, namely that Nabokov’s strongest stirrings of consciousness sprang from his own adolescent experiences of love and it is this feeling that he is trying to recapture. Whilst ‘The Enchanter’ does have it faults, it continues to remain a brilliant dissection of Nabokov’s art.
As divisive as her style may be, I would argue that the most important part of Zanganeh’s homage to Nabokov is how brilliantly she captures the message behind Nabokov’s books. Just like the butterflies he so loved and nature itself, Nabokov was an arch trickster; behind his posturings around his novels having no message at all, or the unreliable narration which runs through so many of his books, is an author whose works, despite their diabolical cruelty, were nothing more than celebrations of life, consciousness and beauty. That Nabokov frequently chose to celebrate life via the perspective of so many mendacious monsters, whether it be Van Veen or Humbert Humbert, is all part of his desire to create good readers, readers who notice and do not embellish, readers who are able to notice the little details which tell the true story, who are able to sympathise with the hopelessly pathetic characters, such as Pnin or John Shade’s daughter in ‘Pale Fire’, who are able to see past the superficial sense of cynicism which Nabokov imbues his characters with and recognise the beauty of the world and the sacredness of life and other people which his characters are unable to.
Zanganeh celebrates all of the important themes which run through Nabokov’s writing, whether it be nature, love, happiness or art and also poses an interesting solution to his somewhat troubling preoccupation with adolescent beauty, namely that Nabokov’s strongest stirrings of consciousness sprang from his own adolescent experiences of love and it is this feeling that he is trying to recapture. Whilst ‘The Enchanter’ does have it faults, it continues to remain a brilliant dissection of Nabokov’s art.
October 25, 2014
تعلن كاتبة هذا الكتاب في بدايته أنها لم تكن سابقاً على علاقة جيدة مع القراءة والكتب، بل كانت تكره القراءة. ولكن هذا كله تغير لدى قراءتها لرواية "آدا" للكاتب فلاديمير ناباكوف.
منذ تلك اللحظة تحول الكره إلى حب وشغف بالكتب، كتب ناباكوف بالتحديد. والآن قررت الكاتبة أن تكتب كتاباً كاملاً عن تجربتها كقارئة داخل عالم ناباكوف.
الكتاب عبارة عن 15 فصل مختلف تجوب فيه الكاتبة عوالم روايات ناباكوف، أو تقوم بإجراء مقابلات خيالية مع ناباكوف، أو تحليل بعض رواياته ..الخ
تقول مؤلفة الكاتب أن فلاديمير ناباكوف هو: كاتب السعادة، ولا تعني السعادة هنا الفرح أو الطاقة الإيجابية أو الشخصيات المرحة بمعناها السطحي.
سعادة القارئ في عالم روايات نابوكوف، تأتي من سعادة ناباكوف نفسه وهو يركب وينسج تفاصيل رواياته ولوحاته بكل تلذذ وبطء. سعادة القارئ في عالم ناباكوف تأتي من ايمان ناباكوف بأن الفن والرواية بشكل خاص توفر مصدر لسعادة الإنسان قد لا يضاهيها شيء آخر في هذا الكون. وقد كتب نابوكوف رواياته تحت هذا الإيمان.
منذ تلك اللحظة تحول الكره إلى حب وشغف بالكتب، كتب ناباكوف بالتحديد. والآن قررت الكاتبة أن تكتب كتاباً كاملاً عن تجربتها كقارئة داخل عالم ناباكوف.
الكتاب عبارة عن 15 فصل مختلف تجوب فيه الكاتبة عوالم روايات ناباكوف، أو تقوم بإجراء مقابلات خيالية مع ناباكوف، أو تحليل بعض رواياته ..الخ
تقول مؤلفة الكاتب أن فلاديمير ناباكوف هو: كاتب السعادة، ولا تعني السعادة هنا الفرح أو الطاقة الإيجابية أو الشخصيات المرحة بمعناها السطحي.
سعادة القارئ في عالم روايات نابوكوف، تأتي من سعادة ناباكوف نفسه وهو يركب وينسج تفاصيل رواياته ولوحاته بكل تلذذ وبطء. سعادة القارئ في عالم ناباكوف تأتي من ايمان ناباكوف بأن الفن والرواية بشكل خاص توفر مصدر لسعادة الإنسان قد لا يضاهيها شيء آخر في هذا الكون. وقد كتب نابوكوف رواياته تحت هذا الإيمان.
September 19, 2012
http://www.playgroundmag.net/musica/a...
Hay escritores de los que no sabemos nada y escritores de los que sabemos demasiado, y sin embargo, por mucha información que tengamos de estos últimos, acabamos por volver a no saber nada. Me explico. Hace unas semanas mi padre me regaló un libro que sabía que yo ansiaba. Se trata de “El Encantador. Nabokov Y La Felicidad” (Duomo, 2012) de Lila Azam, una especie de ensayo que mezcla el diario y la ficción, escrito a base de capítulos muy cortos que bien podrían recordar a los posts de un blog. En “El Encantador” la autora se centra, como podéis imaginar, en la vida del escritor Vladimir Nabokov, una de las más grades figuras literarias de los últimos tiempos, así como de las más enigmáticas. De él (de su obra y de su vida) se ha escrito muchísimo, pero después de todo siempre acaba convirtiéndose en uno de esos autores oscuros: sabemos tanto de él que en realidad no sabemos nada. La propia Lila, estudiosa de su obra y apasionada por la investigación de su intimidad, opina que nunca jamás sus lectores alcanzaremos a imaginar cómo fue realmente nuestro querido Vladimir. Para Lila, la autobiografía del autor titulada “Habla, Memoria”, no es sino un interrogante más en lo que a él respecta. Parece que cuanta más información, más misterio se genera alrededor.
Hablando del libro con mi padre, le conté que su estructura era muy peculiar, y que a veces ni yo misma sabía si se trataba de una novela o de un ensayo. Él me preguntó si Lila Azam era capaz de distinguir su vida de la de Nabokov, o bien, la ficción de la realidad, y le contesté que sí, que en todo momento la autora marcaba perfectamente la diferencia entre una cosa y la otra, aunque a veces incluso se entrelazaran. Mi padre me habló entonces de un libro sobre fotografía de Joan Fontcuberta en donde todas estas cosas se mezclaban y el lector ya no sabía si lo que se contaba formaba parte de su investigación o de su imaginación. ¿Cuánto de imaginación hay en una investigación, y viceversa? Abrí “El Beso De Judas” (Editorial Gustavo Gili, 2011) de Fontcuberta y encontré una sentencia que, a primera vista, parece algo obvia pero que más tarde se podría relacionar con “El Encantador” para terminar de comprenderlo: “Los creadores acostumbramos a ser monotemáticos. Lo podemos disfrazar con envoltorios de distintos colores, pero en el fondo no hacemos sino dar vueltas obsesivamente a una misma cuestión”. Al fin y al cabo, tanto la historia de Lila Azam como la de Vladimir Nabokov partían de este enunciado: la obsesión monotemática de cada uno como motor y tesis del texto que nos concierne.
En “El Encantador” se relatan dos obsesiones (o incluso tres, pero eso vendrá más tarde). La primera es la de la propia autora. Su fijación por la obra de Vladimir Nabokov viene desde que tan sólo era una adolescente. Aquí nos cuenta cómo nace su interés por él. Parece ser que su madre lo leía en inglés, una lengua que ella aún no dominaba pero que más tarde aprendió casi para, entre otras cosas, poder leer a Nabokov. “¿De qué va esto, mamá?”, le diría, “pues esto aún no es para ti, cariño”, contestaría la madre. Poco a poco la vida de Lila Azam fue acercándole a la literatura del ruso. Una serie de casualidades le llevarían a estudiarlo, a interesarse por él y a “amarlo”, y puesto que las obsesiones nacen del amor, Lila Azam tomó la decisión de comenzar este libro extraño. La primera obsesión relatada nos lleva entonces a pensar que “El Encantador” es el libro de una “fan”. El libro que todos los que hemos sido seguidores y fieles a un artista de esta talla habríamos querido crear. Entrañable, divertido, atrevido. Las confesiones de Azam son el máximo exponente de la inquietud que un lector siente hacia su escritor favorito. La autora podría haber optado por un ensayo rigurosísimo, o por una novela entretenidísima, pero prefirió hacer este cóctel... y le salió de fábula. “El encantador”, en este punto, ya no es un libro más sobre aquel genial ruso, sino un libro necesario y único para su público.
La segunda obsesión que encontramos es la de Nabokov: un hombre gris que coleccionaba mariposas y que escribía novelas sobre un fantasma llamado Tamara (ella era ellas) precursor de todo lo que más tarde amó, así como detonador de todos los sufrimientos y deseos que su narrativa destila. La obsesión de Nabokov era la de ser feliz, sí, ¿pero con qué, con quién, o para qué? Ser feliz gracias a ese momento delicado en el que la mariposa entra en la red –metáfora amorosa, metáfora creativa, metáfora vital–. Su narrativa es la de los grandes placeres y las grandes ideas, su narrativa se dibuja sobre el laberinto sentimental que ha de cruzarse para llegar a ellas. Es curioso que tantas veces se coincida en el pensamiento de que Tamara (o Ada, o Dolores, o incluso el nombre científico de cualquier mariposa) representen la obra de este misántropo y solitario escritor. Dice Javier Marías que Nabokov “padecía de insomnio desde la niñez, fue mujeriego en su juventud y fidelísimo [discrepamos] en su madurez (casi todos sus libros están dedicados a su mujer, Vera), y en conjunto quizá hay que verlo como a un solitario. El mayor placer, la mayor dicha, los mayores éxtasis los experimentó a solas: cazando mariposas, fraguando problemas de ajedrez, traduciendo a Pushkin, escribiendo sus libros...”. Y todo esto forma parte de la lógica de sus novelas e incluso a veces de sus poemas, como algo que persigue en una interminable cacería.
La tercera obsesión que aparece visiblemente en “El Encantador” es la relacionada con un nombre que acabamos de mencionar: el de Vera, su mujer, su amante, su acompañante, su lectora, su ayudante, su mecanógrafa, su agente, su chófer, su guardaespaldas, su pareja de ajedrez, su banquero privado, su genio práctico, etc. Todo esto nos lo enumera Lila Azam, pues muy sutilmente escribe este libro, o eso creo, para reivindicar la figura de aquella mujer que entregó su vida entera a Vladimir Nabokov, incluso cuando este le fue infiel, o incluso cuando tuvo que dejar una posible vida literaria propia de lado. “El Encantador” se convierte a ratos en la historia oculta de Vera, otro personaje que según cuentan quienes han leído más a propósito de ella, también era obsesivo, también quería ocultarse y también resulta cada vez más y más lejano. Vera es la obsesión de Vladimir. La de Lila. La de ella misma. La de quien acaba este ensayo/novela/diario y siempre quiere saber más.
Como dije un poco más arriba, hay escritores de los que sabemos mucho pero no sabemos nada. De los que se habla mucho pero no se ha hablado nada. Lila Azam habla de Nabokov porque así lo desea y no para demostrar cuánto se puede conocer de él. De hecho, podríamos añadir que a veces es mejor no conocer ciertos detalles o pensamientos íntimos de la vida de los autores, pues como vemos en el ejemplo de Nabokov: todo lo importante ya estaba en su obra. Así, el libro de Azam es un ejemplo de investigación y de imaginación, pero también una suerte de lección sobre cómo ha de asumirse la literatura y cuánto placer puede llegar a darnos. De hecho, para terminar, me permitiré un pequeño lujo corrigiendo el título que la autora eligió para este libro: “El encantador. Lila y el placer. Vera y la dureza. Vladimir y esa extraña felicidad”. No lo dejéis pasar.
Hay escritores de los que no sabemos nada y escritores de los que sabemos demasiado, y sin embargo, por mucha información que tengamos de estos últimos, acabamos por volver a no saber nada. Me explico. Hace unas semanas mi padre me regaló un libro que sabía que yo ansiaba. Se trata de “El Encantador. Nabokov Y La Felicidad” (Duomo, 2012) de Lila Azam, una especie de ensayo que mezcla el diario y la ficción, escrito a base de capítulos muy cortos que bien podrían recordar a los posts de un blog. En “El Encantador” la autora se centra, como podéis imaginar, en la vida del escritor Vladimir Nabokov, una de las más grades figuras literarias de los últimos tiempos, así como de las más enigmáticas. De él (de su obra y de su vida) se ha escrito muchísimo, pero después de todo siempre acaba convirtiéndose en uno de esos autores oscuros: sabemos tanto de él que en realidad no sabemos nada. La propia Lila, estudiosa de su obra y apasionada por la investigación de su intimidad, opina que nunca jamás sus lectores alcanzaremos a imaginar cómo fue realmente nuestro querido Vladimir. Para Lila, la autobiografía del autor titulada “Habla, Memoria”, no es sino un interrogante más en lo que a él respecta. Parece que cuanta más información, más misterio se genera alrededor.
Hablando del libro con mi padre, le conté que su estructura era muy peculiar, y que a veces ni yo misma sabía si se trataba de una novela o de un ensayo. Él me preguntó si Lila Azam era capaz de distinguir su vida de la de Nabokov, o bien, la ficción de la realidad, y le contesté que sí, que en todo momento la autora marcaba perfectamente la diferencia entre una cosa y la otra, aunque a veces incluso se entrelazaran. Mi padre me habló entonces de un libro sobre fotografía de Joan Fontcuberta en donde todas estas cosas se mezclaban y el lector ya no sabía si lo que se contaba formaba parte de su investigación o de su imaginación. ¿Cuánto de imaginación hay en una investigación, y viceversa? Abrí “El Beso De Judas” (Editorial Gustavo Gili, 2011) de Fontcuberta y encontré una sentencia que, a primera vista, parece algo obvia pero que más tarde se podría relacionar con “El Encantador” para terminar de comprenderlo: “Los creadores acostumbramos a ser monotemáticos. Lo podemos disfrazar con envoltorios de distintos colores, pero en el fondo no hacemos sino dar vueltas obsesivamente a una misma cuestión”. Al fin y al cabo, tanto la historia de Lila Azam como la de Vladimir Nabokov partían de este enunciado: la obsesión monotemática de cada uno como motor y tesis del texto que nos concierne.
En “El Encantador” se relatan dos obsesiones (o incluso tres, pero eso vendrá más tarde). La primera es la de la propia autora. Su fijación por la obra de Vladimir Nabokov viene desde que tan sólo era una adolescente. Aquí nos cuenta cómo nace su interés por él. Parece ser que su madre lo leía en inglés, una lengua que ella aún no dominaba pero que más tarde aprendió casi para, entre otras cosas, poder leer a Nabokov. “¿De qué va esto, mamá?”, le diría, “pues esto aún no es para ti, cariño”, contestaría la madre. Poco a poco la vida de Lila Azam fue acercándole a la literatura del ruso. Una serie de casualidades le llevarían a estudiarlo, a interesarse por él y a “amarlo”, y puesto que las obsesiones nacen del amor, Lila Azam tomó la decisión de comenzar este libro extraño. La primera obsesión relatada nos lleva entonces a pensar que “El Encantador” es el libro de una “fan”. El libro que todos los que hemos sido seguidores y fieles a un artista de esta talla habríamos querido crear. Entrañable, divertido, atrevido. Las confesiones de Azam son el máximo exponente de la inquietud que un lector siente hacia su escritor favorito. La autora podría haber optado por un ensayo rigurosísimo, o por una novela entretenidísima, pero prefirió hacer este cóctel... y le salió de fábula. “El encantador”, en este punto, ya no es un libro más sobre aquel genial ruso, sino un libro necesario y único para su público.
La segunda obsesión que encontramos es la de Nabokov: un hombre gris que coleccionaba mariposas y que escribía novelas sobre un fantasma llamado Tamara (ella era ellas) precursor de todo lo que más tarde amó, así como detonador de todos los sufrimientos y deseos que su narrativa destila. La obsesión de Nabokov era la de ser feliz, sí, ¿pero con qué, con quién, o para qué? Ser feliz gracias a ese momento delicado en el que la mariposa entra en la red –metáfora amorosa, metáfora creativa, metáfora vital–. Su narrativa es la de los grandes placeres y las grandes ideas, su narrativa se dibuja sobre el laberinto sentimental que ha de cruzarse para llegar a ellas. Es curioso que tantas veces se coincida en el pensamiento de que Tamara (o Ada, o Dolores, o incluso el nombre científico de cualquier mariposa) representen la obra de este misántropo y solitario escritor. Dice Javier Marías que Nabokov “padecía de insomnio desde la niñez, fue mujeriego en su juventud y fidelísimo [discrepamos] en su madurez (casi todos sus libros están dedicados a su mujer, Vera), y en conjunto quizá hay que verlo como a un solitario. El mayor placer, la mayor dicha, los mayores éxtasis los experimentó a solas: cazando mariposas, fraguando problemas de ajedrez, traduciendo a Pushkin, escribiendo sus libros...”. Y todo esto forma parte de la lógica de sus novelas e incluso a veces de sus poemas, como algo que persigue en una interminable cacería.
La tercera obsesión que aparece visiblemente en “El Encantador” es la relacionada con un nombre que acabamos de mencionar: el de Vera, su mujer, su amante, su acompañante, su lectora, su ayudante, su mecanógrafa, su agente, su chófer, su guardaespaldas, su pareja de ajedrez, su banquero privado, su genio práctico, etc. Todo esto nos lo enumera Lila Azam, pues muy sutilmente escribe este libro, o eso creo, para reivindicar la figura de aquella mujer que entregó su vida entera a Vladimir Nabokov, incluso cuando este le fue infiel, o incluso cuando tuvo que dejar una posible vida literaria propia de lado. “El Encantador” se convierte a ratos en la historia oculta de Vera, otro personaje que según cuentan quienes han leído más a propósito de ella, también era obsesivo, también quería ocultarse y también resulta cada vez más y más lejano. Vera es la obsesión de Vladimir. La de Lila. La de ella misma. La de quien acaba este ensayo/novela/diario y siempre quiere saber más.
Como dije un poco más arriba, hay escritores de los que sabemos mucho pero no sabemos nada. De los que se habla mucho pero no se ha hablado nada. Lila Azam habla de Nabokov porque así lo desea y no para demostrar cuánto se puede conocer de él. De hecho, podríamos añadir que a veces es mejor no conocer ciertos detalles o pensamientos íntimos de la vida de los autores, pues como vemos en el ejemplo de Nabokov: todo lo importante ya estaba en su obra. Así, el libro de Azam es un ejemplo de investigación y de imaginación, pero también una suerte de lección sobre cómo ha de asumirse la literatura y cuánto placer puede llegar a darnos. De hecho, para terminar, me permitiré un pequeño lujo corrigiendo el título que la autora eligió para este libro: “El encantador. Lila y el placer. Vera y la dureza. Vladimir y esa extraña felicidad”. No lo dejéis pasar.
March 31, 2018
" إن روحي ستظل تتسكع بسروال قصير." —نابوكوف
قراءات هجينة و مختارة من أدب نابوكوف، مطعمة بسيرته الذاتية . قدمتها ليلى أعظم زنكنة بوحي من ألعاب نابوكوف اللغوية.
August 3, 2012
189 pages of melodramatic fawning. Mostly in the form of empty metaphors arranged in endless series of incomplete sentences. The best parts of this book are the Nabokov quotations (ie: just go and read Nabokov instead); the rest unnecessarily summarizes the quotations, using language that borrows HEAVILY from Nabokov (ie: just go and read Nabokov instead).
April 13, 2014
Charming, mesmerising and insightful this one. A flit and flight across Nabokovian realms; over, under and through Na-BOAK-off's linguistic landscapes. It has reinvigorated my love of Nabokov's writing and Inspired me to read his biography Speak, Memory. Lovely.
February 10, 2011
I received this book through the Goodreads giveaway program a couple of days ago. I wanted to love it. I did. And yet. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate it although many parts of it had me grinding my teeth.
The main problem with the writing is its pompousness. I realize a book that is meant to be classified as "literary criticism" is bound to have a rotund sense of self-importance, but when every other sentence is a rather weak imitation of the revered author's style (in this case Nabokov's), it gets a bit hard to swallow. I should have realized this from the moment Ms. Zanganeh mentioned that she reads with a dictionary nearby.
And then there is the convoluted feeling to the book. The author provides us with a cute little map to follow her through her "travels" but the lightness and Alice-in-Wonderland flavor goes stale when she begins her tedious repetitions of things we can already gleam from the quoted phrases. Most of it was over-kill.
I've always loved Nabokov's writing, and its a shame that after reading this book I have very little urge to pick up another of his stories. I am sated on the stuffiness of the words.
I don't want to discourage anyone from reading it, I could very well be wrong and this book is a gem to which we should bow down, but this was my first impression of it, and aren't first impressions the ones that stay with you?
The main problem with the writing is its pompousness. I realize a book that is meant to be classified as "literary criticism" is bound to have a rotund sense of self-importance, but when every other sentence is a rather weak imitation of the revered author's style (in this case Nabokov's), it gets a bit hard to swallow. I should have realized this from the moment Ms. Zanganeh mentioned that she reads with a dictionary nearby.
And then there is the convoluted feeling to the book. The author provides us with a cute little map to follow her through her "travels" but the lightness and Alice-in-Wonderland flavor goes stale when she begins her tedious repetitions of things we can already gleam from the quoted phrases. Most of it was over-kill.
I've always loved Nabokov's writing, and its a shame that after reading this book I have very little urge to pick up another of his stories. I am sated on the stuffiness of the words.
I don't want to discourage anyone from reading it, I could very well be wrong and this book is a gem to which we should bow down, but this was my first impression of it, and aren't first impressions the ones that stay with you?
November 22, 2012
This book is... literary. An evident redundancy? No. "The Enchanter" is to books, as Moliere is to plays. It's a hearty intellectual feast that's somewhat difficult to digest and, surely, daunting to eat.
And don't think the author doesn't know it... As with most hubris folks, an indulgent delight is always derived from successful sophistication. Every line is a verbose, complicated idea, meticulously molded into a phrase worthy of literary prize or a slap in the face--depending how you look at it. I mean... she's totally smarter than us all--which is fine, and honestly, a real treat--but "The Enchanter" necessitates intense chewing, and an overly acutely alert mind. So don't try reading this before bed when your brain is tired, for instance.... No, no.
The bottom line is... That even I, who delights and revels in words, and who drinks in sentence constructions like healing tonics, *even I* grew weary of her incessant floridity.
Because, to me, flow is paramount. Flow is, arguably, more important than insanely complicated and intellect-ridden sentences. And there are moments were flow falls by the wayside, due to dense wordery.
Read this book to boost your intelligence and vocabulary, but don't read it if you're a) not familiar with Nabokov (evidently) and/or b) not "enchanted" by brainy pontification.
(You'll notice that I, too, have written a slightly more cumbersome review than usual. But, it was called for. ;))
And don't think the author doesn't know it... As with most hubris folks, an indulgent delight is always derived from successful sophistication. Every line is a verbose, complicated idea, meticulously molded into a phrase worthy of literary prize or a slap in the face--depending how you look at it. I mean... she's totally smarter than us all--which is fine, and honestly, a real treat--but "The Enchanter" necessitates intense chewing, and an overly acutely alert mind. So don't try reading this before bed when your brain is tired, for instance.... No, no.
The bottom line is... That even I, who delights and revels in words, and who drinks in sentence constructions like healing tonics, *even I* grew weary of her incessant floridity.
Because, to me, flow is paramount. Flow is, arguably, more important than insanely complicated and intellect-ridden sentences. And there are moments were flow falls by the wayside, due to dense wordery.
Read this book to boost your intelligence and vocabulary, but don't read it if you're a) not familiar with Nabokov (evidently) and/or b) not "enchanted" by brainy pontification.
(You'll notice that I, too, have written a slightly more cumbersome review than usual. But, it was called for. ;))
May 11, 2017
I found this book difficult to read. Not because it was difficult. But because. Because of, I don't know, the tone? The choices? The approach? It was like watching someone do some sincere tap dancing en lieu of an elegy at a funeral. Or like, playing hacky sack at in the waiting room before a big job interview. The dancer, the player, enjoys herself immensely, but the rest of us stand agape.
Not that it matters, but I would have given this book a one-star review had Zanganeh not been so helplessly in love with the work of Nabokov. I don't often meet someone who loves his work as much as I do, and I was looking forward to a fine communion. But her idea of "play" and my idea of "play" and ultimately, I think, Nabokov's idea of "play," didn't cohere. They just didn't cohere.
Not that it matters, but I would have given this book a one-star review had Zanganeh not been so helplessly in love with the work of Nabokov. I don't often meet someone who loves his work as much as I do, and I was looking forward to a fine communion. But her idea of "play" and my idea of "play" and ultimately, I think, Nabokov's idea of "play," didn't cohere. They just didn't cohere.
January 31, 2017
I am not sure why some reviewers on the site are giving this book such a hard time.
I wonder if it is because the cover has excerpts from reviews by Salman Rushdie and Orhan Pamuk? This usually draws a certain kind of reader expecting to read a certain kind of prose. Or may be because it is about Vladamir Nabokov and this book, is very true to Nabokovian style of writing - that is - purple, entwined but effective in its own way. It helped that I had heard the author speak about the book before I picked it up, and that I had read Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle a long time ago. So I was prepared for the heady prose.
This book is not a biography. It is described in the title as an "adventure in the land of Nabokov" and is just that: a life long enchantment of author Lila Azam Zanganeh with the Nabokov. In its style it reminded me more of W. G. Sebald than Rushdie or Pamuk, a rambling, outwardly purposeless tour that is deeply personal. Here we meet Nabokov the amateur (or not) butterfly hunter, the author of Lolita, the husband and sometimes the father. But it is as a muse that Nabokov fascinates Zanganeh. The book is not easy reading in the conventional sense, but in its rumination on the nature of a writer-muse it takes us to a place where fascination, coincidence, biography and critique live in a natural order not unlike the work of Nabokov.
The book is big on the theme of happiness, and sometimes I found the message too heavy handed, but in a world where authors too often are expected to be more dark than light, more tormented than happy this is a refreshing look. I finished the book with a feeling of having conversed with a talkative, happy friend who in telling me about this writer she is fascinated by - slowly made me happy too.
I wonder if it is because the cover has excerpts from reviews by Salman Rushdie and Orhan Pamuk? This usually draws a certain kind of reader expecting to read a certain kind of prose. Or may be because it is about Vladamir Nabokov and this book, is very true to Nabokovian style of writing - that is - purple, entwined but effective in its own way. It helped that I had heard the author speak about the book before I picked it up, and that I had read Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle a long time ago. So I was prepared for the heady prose.
This book is not a biography. It is described in the title as an "adventure in the land of Nabokov" and is just that: a life long enchantment of author Lila Azam Zanganeh with the Nabokov. In its style it reminded me more of W. G. Sebald than Rushdie or Pamuk, a rambling, outwardly purposeless tour that is deeply personal. Here we meet Nabokov the amateur (or not) butterfly hunter, the author of Lolita, the husband and sometimes the father. But it is as a muse that Nabokov fascinates Zanganeh. The book is not easy reading in the conventional sense, but in its rumination on the nature of a writer-muse it takes us to a place where fascination, coincidence, biography and critique live in a natural order not unlike the work of Nabokov.
The book is big on the theme of happiness, and sometimes I found the message too heavy handed, but in a world where authors too often are expected to be more dark than light, more tormented than happy this is a refreshing look. I finished the book with a feeling of having conversed with a talkative, happy friend who in telling me about this writer she is fascinated by - slowly made me happy too.
September 23, 2019
Lila makes a passionate case for happiness. To be found in Vladimir Nabokov novels and essays. I have the feeling mere words by the master make her swoon and she would want to be Lolita or Ada serenaded by the Russian poet himself. Oh to be the mighty muse, puny you might be. To play VN like an instrument of literature spinning words and worlds and alliterations. Dripping with luscious inspiration from v's and A's and inverted exclamation marks, but alas, sweet lass, you were born to late to be borne on the masters wings to vineland or where ever he went to catch his sublimated butterflies.
Lila is an adept of the lighter literary arts. And I am now heavenlogged with the loaded life in my loins looking at her cover photo. Oh to take a flight of fancy with this worldwise waif. Alas I was born to soon and I am no Humbert Humbert. Come to think of it, just not being HH disqualifies me. I think miss zanganeh is still slowly descending to demonland. Slowly fading out of focus.
I liked this mish mash of quotes and interpretations, but it is no more concolorous with the real nabokovian purl than neverland with nymphetland. Ah but maybe I am just a pessimist and, like all pessimists, a ridiculously unobservant man...
Lila is an adept of the lighter literary arts. And I am now heavenlogged with the loaded life in my loins looking at her cover photo. Oh to take a flight of fancy with this worldwise waif. Alas I was born to soon and I am no Humbert Humbert. Come to think of it, just not being HH disqualifies me. I think miss zanganeh is still slowly descending to demonland. Slowly fading out of focus.
I liked this mish mash of quotes and interpretations, but it is no more concolorous with the real nabokovian purl than neverland with nymphetland. Ah but maybe I am just a pessimist and, like all pessimists, a ridiculously unobservant man...
December 24, 2020
Deftly preposterous; had the sprite of Nabokov been alive a backhand slap she would have got. And strangely Rushdie calls this -- One quarter of sense in a squalid tumbler, grey fluid within: of bullshit and bullpiss-- "beautiful".
A terrible nonsense, rakes the bliss into storm with fancy interface and jingling farce, and Dimitri accepting this as passable! Our ungaurded Nabokov verbally raped and left in the trench of a quoted paranthesis--("Hi, Melmoth, thanks a lot, old fellow").
Only Übermensch can hopefully undistort her.
A terrible nonsense, rakes the bliss into storm with fancy interface and jingling farce, and Dimitri accepting this as passable! Our ungaurded Nabokov verbally raped and left in the trench of a quoted paranthesis--("Hi, Melmoth, thanks a lot, old fellow").
Only Übermensch can hopefully undistort her.
February 2, 2021
No me gustó tanto como pensé. Pensé que me gustaría muchísimo, sobre todo por el entusiasmo que me transmitía la autora en alguna entrevista acerca de su obras y de Nabokov. Ahora bien, me queda claro que está curiosa obsesión y filia que ella tiene por él, están muy presentes y sea aproxima mucho a querer presentárnoslos con sus ojos, por eso creo que la apreciación final ya escapa de ella. Aún así me ha dejado con ganas de leer “Ana y el ardor”.
November 9, 2021
مدري الكاتبه تخرط مدري المترجم سيئ
January 22, 2022
Un libro que está bien escrito, pero que no ha logrado despertar mi interés y he decidido no finalizar su lectura.
Want to read
December 28, 2023https://observer.com/2011/05/what-can...
author has fancy style as can be gleaned from the quoted lines in the article above
author has fancy style as can be gleaned from the quoted lines in the article above
February 28, 2024
Adı ve başlangıç kısımları heyecan ve bir tür beklenti yarattı bende ancak kitap bittiğinde bu bunlardan çok uzağa düştüm.
Read
August 27, 2025BEAUTIFUL
November 26, 2025
Even if I did not enjoyed this book much I am grateful that it brought me back to reading Nabokov.
September 12, 2020
Loved this - a gorgeous lyrical response to Nabokov, stylish and entertaining read.
June 15, 2024
Meravigliarsi delle piccole cose stupefacenti della vita facendosi accompagnare da una guida d'eccezione: Vladimir Nabokov.
La scrittrice "vola leggera" nel suo saggio narrativo per incantarci fra i ricordi di grandi capolavori della letteratura.
Bisogna leggerlo assorti in mezzo alla natura per lasciarsi coinvolgere dalle bellissime immagini estatiche.
Soave e immersivo.
La scrittrice "vola leggera" nel suo saggio narrativo per incantarci fra i ricordi di grandi capolavori della letteratura.
Bisogna leggerlo assorti in mezzo alla natura per lasciarsi coinvolgere dalle bellissime immagini estatiche.
Soave e immersivo.
February 14, 2011
I received an ARC copy of this book courtesy of W.W. Norton and Goodreads. I was planning to purchase the book when it was published, being an avid reader of Nabokov and even more so due to the fact that Dmitri along with several respectable authors (Pamuk, Rushdie, etc...) have already endorsed it. Seeing that it was Zanganeh's first book, and that she was still quite young, I was slightly hesitant to put much hope in the final product. However, when the book arrived I took my manila package to the local coffee shop and ordered my customary americano, withholding the thrilling pleasure of opening the envelope which I knew contained a new book months before anyone could see it, and that moment was just for me. The cover had a few butterflies on it, reminding one of Nabokov's love and great contributions to lepidopterology. Seeing the classification as Literary Criticism, I was expecting the focus to be an interpretation of his works, but there is nothing about this book that is traditional in that sense. The book is a journey through both the life of Vladimir and the life of Zanganeh. It is reminiscent of a memoir inspired by literature. A personal philosophy about great art and the reasons we seek emotion and understanding from art. It takes the author and humanizes him, something that is frowned upon in academia, where merit is determined by the value of the text and the author should not influence this. Despite my personal views on how criticism should be presented, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, although I think it is misclassified as Criticism and think it is more akin to a Creative Biography. I was often reminded throughout it by an essay written by Professor J.E. Rivers after he traveled to visit Nabokov shortly before his passing. In it he speaks of the composed nature of the author, the side of perfectionism that considered every word, pondered every thought and action. Once during their interview, drinking cocktails and generally relaxing when the formal portion was over, Nabokov laughed at a comment and Rivers managed to take a photograph of him, clutching a tissue that wiped away tears of laughter. The picture seems to have caught Nabokov in between the composure of the author and the joy of the person, the perfection of the words vs. the humanity of the person. That is what Zanganeh accomplishes with The Enchanter: Nabokov and Happiness, she is able to show us two sides by adding a depth to both the life and the art. It is a personal tale, and one which I encourage fans of Nabokov to go out and read despite the classification of the book, it is light reading and often times very beautiful.
June 12, 2011
"The Enchanter reads like a love letter; by turns playful, intimate, eager and obsessive, as the author takes us down the rabbit hole and into the wonderland of Nabokov’s writing. Neither literary criticism, memoir or biography, The Enchanter is instead a combination of all three, recounting the author’s first experiences and responses to Nabokov’s writing, and the literary adventures that followed."
(Excerpt from full review of The Enchanter: Nabokov and Happiness at For Books' Sake)
(Excerpt from full review of The Enchanter: Nabokov and Happiness at For Books' Sake)
May 25, 2013
"leggiamo per reincantare il mondo. naturalmente, c'è uno scotto da pagare, anche per il più agile dei lettori. l'impegno di decifrare, inoltrandosi in territori sconosciuti, facendosi strada in un universo intricato di frasi, di incredibile oscurità, di flora e fauna misteriose. eppure, davanti a lui che riesce a proseguire, in virtù di una curiosità ostinata o di uno spirito conquistatore, emerge di tanto in tanto un panorama sontuoso, un paesaggio inondato di sole, creature marine luccicanti.
per intraprendere questo viaggio, dobbiamo anzitutto indovinare i libri che desideriamo con il cuore o di cui abbiamo realmente bisogno"
per intraprendere questo viaggio, dobbiamo anzitutto indovinare i libri che desideriamo con il cuore o di cui abbiamo realmente bisogno"
February 8, 2011
While some knowledge of Nabokov is helpful in understanding all the references, it is certainly not mandatory. It is a delightful romp through the realms of HAPPINESS. Zanganeh's starting point is Nabokov, of course, but she extrapolates from his life and from his writing the happy-enducing particles that she can share. This is not a dry treatise on a type of philosophical thought; this book scampers all around and through Nabokov's works and world, enchanting the reader and introducing him to a world of sheer bliss.
September 11, 2025
il lettore, che è la scrittrice, scrive dello scrittore, che è nabokov, e intanto racconta molto di sé, al punto che nabokov a tratti impallidisce. ogni capitolo è un tipo di felicità; il linguaggio mi è parso all'inizio pretenzioso, poi mi sono rilassata e sono arrivata a trovarlo fiabesco - un po' troppo new age, ma io sono cinica. purtroppo conosco nabokov solo attraverso lolita e non m'era parso una persona così luminosamente felice, tuttavia il libro si legge con piacere e, fatto strano, mette di buon umore.
February 17, 2011
I am inspired by this book to read more of Nabakov's work. After reading Lolita a few years ago I was left nonplussed, and am now looking forward to re-reading it and cracking open my copy of The Original of Laura.
This book is a fairly quick and interesting read. At times I felt the author was trying a bit too hard with the language, but that did not take away from the generally pleasurable experience.
This book is a fairly quick and interesting read. At times I felt the author was trying a bit too hard with the language, but that did not take away from the generally pleasurable experience.
February 10, 2011
I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads a little under a week ago. I finally finished reading it. It was a little difficult to get into. There are a lot of moments where you just don't understand what is going on and then the next minute you can't put the book down due to intrigue. The jumping around is a little much.
I love the idea, but the finished writing style just could not keep my attention for extended periods of time.
I love the idea, but the finished writing style just could not keep my attention for extended periods of time.
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