The darkly comic Transparent Things, one of Nabokov's final books, traces the bleak life of Hugh Person through murder, madness, prison and trips to Switzerland. One of these was the last journey his father ever took; on another, having been sent to ingratiate himself with a distinguished novelist, he met his future wife.
"As casual, as unpredictable, as eccentric and as daunting as Mr. Nabokov's genius." -Mavis Gallant, The New York Times Book Review
Nabokov's brilliant short novel sinks into the transparent things of the world that surround this one person, to the silent histories they carry. Remarkable even in Nabokov's work for its depth and lyricism, Transparent Things is a small, experimental marvel of memories and dreams, both sentimental and malign.
“The final effect is both chill and comic, the transparencies both beautiful and terrifying.” —The Times (London)
"As casual, as unpredictable, as eccentric and as daunting as Mr. Nabokov's genius." -Mavis Gallant, The New York Times Book Review
“The final effect is both chill and comic, the transparencies both beautiful and terrifying.” —The Times (London)
Vladimir Nabokov studied French and Russian literature at Trinity College, Cambridge, then lived in Berlin and Paris, writing prolifically in Russian under the pseudonym Sirin. In 1940, he left France for America, where he wrote some of his greatest works—Bend Sinister (1947), Lolita (1955), Pnin (1957), and Pale Fire (1962)—and translated his earlier Russian novels into English. He taught at Wellesley, Harvard, and Cornell. He died in Montreux, Switzerland, in 1977.
View titles by Vladimir Nabokov
The darkly comic Transparent Things, one of Nabokov's final books, traces the bleak life of Hugh Person through murder, madness, prison and trips to Switzerland. One of these was the last journey his father ever took; on another, having been sent to ingratiate himself with a distinguished novelist, he met his future wife.
"As casual, as unpredictable, as eccentric and as daunting as Mr. Nabokov's genius." -Mavis Gallant, The New York Times Book Review
Nabokov's brilliant short novel sinks into the transparent things of the world that surround this one person, to the silent histories they carry. Remarkable even in Nabokov's work for its depth and lyricism, Transparent Things is a small, experimental marvel of memories and dreams, both sentimental and malign.
“The final effect is both chill and comic, the transparencies both beautiful and terrifying.” —The Times (London)
Praise
"As casual, as unpredictable, as eccentric and as daunting as Mr. Nabokov's genius." -Mavis Gallant, The New York Times Book Review
“The final effect is both chill and comic, the transparencies both beautiful and terrifying.” —The Times (London)
Author
Vladimir Nabokov studied French and Russian literature at Trinity College, Cambridge, then lived in Berlin and Paris, writing prolifically in Russian under the pseudonym Sirin. In 1940, he left France for America, where he wrote some of his greatest works—Bend Sinister (1947), Lolita (1955), Pnin (1957), and Pale Fire (1962)—and translated his earlier Russian novels into English. He taught at Wellesley, Harvard, and Cornell. He died in Montreux, Switzerland, in 1977.
View titles by Vladimir Nabokov
