Which Russian writer was nominated for the Nobel Prize, but never became a laureate? Too good: which writer never received the Nobel Prize Nobel Prize in Literature

Leo Tolstoy (1902–1906)

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The history of the Nobel Prize in Literature began in 1901 - and immediately with a scandal. Its first laureate was the French poet Sully-Prudhomme. Forty-two Swedish critics and writers - including future Nobel laureates Selma Lagerlöf and Werner von Heydenstam - were dumbfounded: the main author in the world, in their opinion, was Leo Tolstoy. August Strindberg launched into a long-winded article, calling academics unscrupulous artisans and amateurs in literature. Tolstoy himself received, the authors of which called him “the most revered patriarch modern literature” and justified themselves: the committee’s choice, they say, does not reflect the opinions of either critics or readers. In response to Oscar Levertin, one of the forty-two authors, Tolstoy said: “I was very pleased that Nobel Prize was not awarded to me.<…>this saved me from a great difficulty in disposing of this money, which, like any money, in my conviction, can only bring evil.”

A piquant detail: among the twenty-three contenders for the first prize, Tolstoy was not present at all. But now - mainly through the efforts of French academicians - the count was nominated every year. However, he never received the prize, not least because of the unflattering description that Alfred Jensen, an expert on Slavic literature, wrote for the committee. Jensen's philosophy of the late Tolstoy is destructive and contrary to the idealistic nature of the prize. Later, however, the researcher spoke more flatteringly about Tolstoy - but he still was not offended. In 1906, the writer even of his Swedish colleagues “tried to ensure that I was not awarded this prize,” because “if this happened, it would be very unpleasant for me to refuse.” The committee listened and was relieved to stop putting him on the list.

Dmitry Merezhkovsky (1914, 1915, 1930–1937)

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After Tolstoy's death, the most famous Russian novelist in Europe became Dmitry Merezhkovsky, whose candidacy was proposed in 1914 by the first director of the Pushkin House, Nestor Kotlyarevsky. The committee again turned to Alfred Jensen for feedback: the philologist noted the kinship of his work with the works of Nadson, Pushkin and Baudelaire and generally praised the candidate “for his artistic mastery of depiction, universal content and idealistic direction.” However, history intervened in the matter: the First World War broke out - and they decided not to award the prize.

The following year, Merezhkovsky was nominated by a Swedish writer, at whose suggestion Selma Lagerlöf had already received the award. In his new review, Jensen was merciless towards Merezhkovsky, calling him “a collector of details, quotes and simply copied pages” and pointing out that he is far from real masters like Leo Tolstoy; an astonishing judgment, considering that he had previously criticized Tolstoy. However, when the author of “At the Lower Depths” and “Mother” first appeared among the nominees, Jensen again changed his position, complaining that “Maxim Gorky was included in the 1918 list of Russian writers, while the name of Merezhkovsky does not appear,” and that Merezhkovsky's legacy "will forever preserve his name regardless of the Nobel Prize."

Low competition could have played into Merezhkovsky’s hands: warring Europe had no time for literature. But in February, the committee added thirteen more names left over from last year to the eleven applicants. The laureate then became Romain Rolland, who later himself became three Russian authors - Maxim Gorky, Ivan Bunin and Konstantin Balmont.

Merezhkovsky again began to compete for the prize only fifteen years later. The poet and translator Sigurd Agrel nominated it for seven years in a row - sometimes alone, sometimes in company with Bunin and Gorky. Merezhkovsky was considered by many to be the favorite (feuilletonist Alexander Amfitheatrov even rushed to congratulate him on receiving the Nobel Prize), but the writer himself did not overestimate his chances. Vera Bunina, as Merezhkovsky busily suggested that Bunin share the prize: if one of them wins, he will give the second 200,000 francs. Bunin refused with contempt, and in 1933 he received it - solo. Merezhkovsky, however, did not give up trying - he made connections, wrote letters, became friends with Gustav Nobel, Alfred's nephew - but in vain: he never received the award.

Maxim Gorky (1918, 1923, 1928, 1933)

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Maxim Gorky was not nominated for the Nobel Prize as often as some - only four times. But he received nominations with mathematical precision: once every five years and always in the year of his next anniversary.

Gorky presented a problem for the Nobel Committee. On the one hand, it was impossible to ignore a talent of such magnitude; on the other, the Swedes were embarrassed by his political views. The same Jensen in 1918, when the fifty-year-old Gorky was nominated for the first time, praised early works writer and - later: “anarchist and often completely crude creations” of Gorky “in no way fit into the framework of the Nobel Prize.” However, the award was not presented that time again.
Five years later, Jensen’s successor Anton Karlgren added new accusations: in Gorky’s work after 1905, in his opinion, there is “not the slightest echo of ardent love for the homeland,” and in general his books are a complete “sterile desert.” The committee also agreed with him, preferring Gorky (and at the same time Bunin) to the Irishman William Butler Yeats.

In 1928, two Swedish writers vouched for the “petrel of the revolution” - Werner von Heydenstam and Thor Hedberg. The Nobel committee was impressed by the persistence of the Russian author's fans, and Gorky was even considered a favorite, but the prize was won by the Norwegian novelist Sigrid Undset.

Finally, in 1933, Sigurd Agrel nominated Gorky. According to him, the prize should either be awarded to Bunin, or divided between him and Merezhkovsky (the latter would have liked this option), or divided between Bunin and Gorky. The committee gave preference to the author of “The Life of Arsenyev”. Gorky died in 1936, without waiting for another nomination.

Vladimir Nabokov (1963–…)

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Back in the 1930s, when Bunin, Gorky and Merezhkovsky were fighting for the prize, Vera Bunina wrote in her diary: “I read Sirina. How light it is and how modern it is. This is who will soon be a candidate for the Nobel Prize.” The prediction almost came true: Nabokov received his first nomination only in 1963. By this point he had already become one of the best novelists of the century, but one of his books still embarrassed the academy: “The author of the immoral and successful novel Lolita cannot under any circumstances be considered as a candidate for the prize,” wrote a permanent member of the Swedish Academy Anders Oesterling.

For at least three years in a row, Nabokov was among the nominees, but lost. In 1964, the prize was awarded to Sartre (the Frenchman refused it), and in 1965, to Nabokov’s former compatriot Sholokhov. Most likely, Nabokov was nominated later (we will find out about this when the archives are opened). In a May 1969 review of Ada, New York Times critic John Leonard wrote, "If he doesn't win the Nobel Prize, it will be because it's unworthy of him."

In 1970, Alexander Solzhenitsyn became the laureate. Nabokov was not enthusiastic about the author of The Gulag Archipelago, as well as Brodsky, but he never criticized them in the press and spoke with reserved respect. He responded that Nabokov had left his native language, but recognized in him “a dazzling literary talent, exactly what we call genius,” and publicly asked the Nobel Committee to finally pay tribute to the Russian-American writer.
When Solzhenitsyn was deprived of citizenship and expelled from the USSR in February 1974, Nabokov immediately wrote to him, thanked him for his support and invited him to see him. In the fall, Solzhenitsyn arrived in the Swiss city of Montreux, where Nabokov and his wife lived, and received a note inviting him to meet. Without answering anything, Nabokov immediately ordered a separate office in the restaurant and went there to wait for Solzhenitsyn. The same one was in the dark and spent the entire morning of October 6 calling Nabokov’s empty room, not daring to go into the restaurant. According to culturologist Boris Paramonov, Nabokov deliberately “avoided meeting Solzhenitsyn,” but, apparently, the non-meeting was the result of an absurd accident. Nabokov himself believed that it was Solzhenitsyn who changed his mind about getting to know him. “I probably seem too verbal to him, carelessly apolitical,” he complained to Bella Akhmadulina. The two main Russian emigrant writers never crossed paths. The first couple were Miguel Angel Asturias and Jorge Louis Borges: Asturias became a laureate in 1967, while the Argentine prose writer inappropriately became friends with Pinochet and thereby deprived himself of a chance for a Nobel Prize. Shmuel Yosef Agnon and Nelly Sachs shared the prize for the following year. Well, the third option was the parallel awarding of Mikhail Sholokhov and Anna Akhmatova. Committee Chairman Anders Oesterling, however, considered this move too compromising and insisted that the prize go into one person's hands. It was received by Sholokhov, who was nominated for the seventh time. A year later, Akhmatova died, and this nomination remained her only one.

Vladimir Nabokov

The Nobel Prize in Literature is the most prestigious award, which has been awarded annually by the Nobel Foundation for achievements in the field of literature since 1901. A writer who has been awarded the prize appears in the eyes of millions of people as an incomparable talent or genius who, with his creativity, managed to win the hearts of readers from all over the world.

However, there are a number of famous writers who were bypassed by the Nobel Prize for various reasons, but they were no less worthy of it than their fellow laureates, and sometimes even more. Who are they?

LEO TOLSTOY

It is generally accepted that Leo Tolstoy himself refused the prize. In 1901, the first Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the French poet Sully-Prudhomme - although, it would seem, how can one bypass the author of Anna Karenina and War and Peace?

Realizing the awkwardness, Swedish academics shyly turned to Tolstoy, calling him “the deeply revered patriarch of modern literature” and “one of those powerful, soulful poets who in this case should be remembered first of all.” However, they wrote, great writer after all, he himself “never aspired to this kind of reward.” Tolstoy thanked: “I was very pleased that the Nobel Prize was not awarded to me,” he wrote. “This saved me from a great difficulty in disposing of this money, which, like all money, in my opinion, can only bring evil.”

49 Swedish writers, led by August Strindberg and Selma Lagerlöf, wrote a letter of protest to the Nobel academicians. The opinion of the Nobel Committee expert, Professor Alfred Jensen, remained behind the scenes: the philosophy of the late Tolstoy contradicts the will of Alfred Nobel, who dreamed of an “idealistic orientation” in his works. And “War and Peace” is completely “devoid of understanding of history.” The secretary of the Swedish Academy, Karl Wiersen, agreed with this:

“This writer condemned all forms of civilization and insisted in their place on adopting a primitive way of life, divorced from all the institutions of high culture.”

Whether Lev Nikolaevich heard about this or not, in 1906, anticipating another nomination, he asked the academicians to do everything so that he would not have to refuse the prestigious award. They happily agreed and Tolstoy never appeared on the list of Nobel laureates.

VLADIMIR NABOKOV

One of the contenders for the 1963 award was famous writer Vladimir Nabokov, author of the acclaimed novel Lolita. This circumstance became a pleasant surprise for fans of the writer’s work.

The scandalous novel, the subject of which was unthinkable for that time, was published in 1955 by the Parisian publishing house Olympia Press. In the 60s, rumors repeatedly appeared about Vladimir Nabokov’s nomination for the Nobel Prize, but nothing was really clear. A little later it will become known that Nabokov will never receive the Nobel Prize for excessive immorality.

• Nabokov's candidacy was opposed by Anders Oesterling, a permanent member of the Swedish Academy. “Under no circumstances can the author of the immoral and successful novel Lolita be considered a candidate for the prize,” Oesterling wrote in 1963.

In 1972, prize winner Alexander Solzhenitsyn approached the Swedish committee with a recommendation to consider Nabokov's candidacy. Subsequently, the authors of many publications (in particular the London Times, The Guardian, New York Times) ranked Nabokov among those writers who were undeservedly not included in the lists of nominees.

The writer was nominated in 1974, but lost to two Swedish authors whom no one remembers now. But they turned out to be members of the Nobel Committee. One American critic wittily said: “Nabokov did not receive the Nobel Prize not because he did not deserve it, but because Nabokov did not deserve the Nobel Prize.”

MAXIM GORKY

Since 1918, Maxim Gorky was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature 5 times - in 1918, 1923, 1928, 1930 and finally in 1933.

But even in 1933, Nobel passed the writer by. Among the nominees that year, Bunin and Merezhkovsky were again with him. For Bunin, this was the fifth attempt to win the Nobel. She turned out to be successful, unlike the five-time nominees. The award was presented to Ivan Alekseevich Bunin with the wording “For the strict skill with which he develops the traditions of Russian classical prose.”

Until the forties, the Russian emigration was concerned with doing everything so that the prize did not go to Gorky and the myth that there was no culture left on the territory of Russia without emigrants would collapse. Both Balmont and Shmelev were nominated as candidates, but Merezhkovsky was especially nervous. The fuss was accompanied by intrigue, Aldanov urged Bunin to agree to a “group” nomination, the three of them, Merezhkovsky persuaded Bunin to enter into an amicable agreement - whoever wins will divide the prize in half. Bunin did not agree, and he did the right thing - the fighter against the “coming boor” Merezhkovsky will soon be soiled by fraternization with Hitler and Mussolini.

And Bunin, by the way, gave part of the prize without any contracts to needy Russian writers (they still got into fights), part was lost in the war, but with the prize Bunin bought a radio receiver, on which he listened to reports of battles on the eastern front - he was worried.

However, it is a fact: even here the Swedish newspapers were perplexed. Gorky has much more merit to Russian and world literature; Bunin is known only to fellow writers and rare connoisseurs. And Marina Tsvetaeva was indignant, by the way, sincerely: “I don’t protest, I just don’t agree, because Gorky is incomparably greater than Bunin: greater, and more humane, and more original, and more necessary. Gorky is an era, and Bunin is the end of an era. But - since this is politics, since the king of Sweden cannot pin orders on the communist Gorky ... "

The angry opinions of experts remained behind the scenes. Having listened to them, back in 1918, academics considered that Gorky, nominated by Romain Rolland, was an anarchist and “without a doubt, in no way fits into the framework of the Nobel Prize.” The Dane H. Pontoppidan was preferred to Gorky (don’t remember who it is, and it doesn’t matter). In the 1930s, the academicians hesitated and came up with the idea that “he is collaborating with the Bolsheviks,” the award will be “misinterpreted.”

ANTON CHEKHOV

Anton Pavlovich, who died in 1904 (the prize has been awarded since 1901), most likely simply did not have time to receive it. By the day of his death, he was known in Russia, but not yet very well in the West. In addition, he is better known there as a playwright. More precisely, in general, he is only known there as a playwright. But the Nobel Committee does not favor playwrights.

...WHO ELSE?

In addition to the above-mentioned Russian writers, among the Russian nominees for the award in different years were Anatoly Koni, Konstantin Balmont, Pyotr Krasnov, Ivan Shmelev, Nikolai Berdyaev, Mark Aldanov, Leonid Leonov, Boris Zaitsev, Roman Yakobson and Evgeny Yevtushenko.

And how many geniuses of Russian literature were not even included in the list of nominees: Bulgakov, Akhmatova, Tsvetaeva, Mandelstam... Everyone can continue this brilliant series with the names of their favorite writers and poets.

Is it an accident that four out of five Russian writers who became Nobel laureates, were somehow in conflict with the Soviet regime? Bunin and Brodsky were emigrants, Solzhenitsyn was a dissident, Pasternak received a prize for a novel published abroad. And Sholokhov, who was completely loyal to the Soviet regime, was given a Nobel “for the artistic strength and integrity of the epic about the Don Cossacks at a turning point for Russia.”

• Is it any wonder that in 1955, even the notorious Soviet cryptographer-defector Igor Guzenko, who took up literature in the West, was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

And in 1970, the Nobel Committee had to prove for a long time that the prize was awarded to Alexander Solzhenitsyn not for political reasons, but “for the moral strength with which he followed the immutable traditions of Russian literature.” After all, by that time only eight years had passed since the writer’s first publication, and his main works “The Gulag Archipelago” and “The Red Wheel” had not yet been published.

This is how things are, brothers...

He said that this writer has a noble heart and a strong will. The works of the master of the pen attracted the attention of critics of various orientations; he was often accused of pornography, a break with the Russian literary diaspora, excessive snobbery and even creative theft.

But it is worth saying that Nabokov’s stories were among the most read and reviewed in the literature of the Russian diaspora in the 20s and 30s. Vladimir Vladimirovich’s books are read to this day: critics meticulously discuss his novels, famous directors produce films, and writers look for new grains in his amazing and multifaceted biography.

Childhood and youth

On April 10 (22), 1899, a great writer was born in the city on the Neva, leaving a mark on the history of both Russian and American literature. The future novelist, along with his brothers and sisters, was raised in a privileged noble family and did not know what poverty was. Vladimir Nabokov has a rich pedigree: the writer used to say that the ancestors of his paternal grandmother can be traced back to the 14th century.

The writer's father - the son of the Minister of Justice Dmitry Nikolaevich - was called Vladimir. In 1887 he graduated from school with a gold medal. Vladimir Sr. personified courage, integrity and honesty. He worked as a lawyer, was the founder of the Cadet Party, and was also known as a journalist and political figure. Honor and dignity were the main components for Vladimir Dmitrievich.

In 1911, a man threw down a white glove to the Russian playwright Mikhail Suvorin, who at that time was the editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Novoe Vremya”. The reason for the competition was the publication of journalist Nikolai Snessarev, where the provocateur spoke impartially about the Nabokov family, calling this gentleman “a man who married money.” However, the fight never took place. It is noteworthy that before this incident, the writer’s father spoke unflatteringly about the duel and believed that the cruel tradition was contrary to Russian legislation and common sense.

The writer’s mother, Elena Ivanovna, came from a noble family: she was the daughter of landowner and millionaire Ivan Vasilyevich Rukavishnikov, co-owner of the Lena gold mines.

Vladimir Nabokov's childhood was spent in a three-story house on Bolshaya Morskaya Street, which before the February Revolution was considered the main fashionable haven for aristocratic ladies and gentlemen. Also, a large family vacationed on their Vyra estate near Gatchina or traveled abroad - to Italy or Sweden.

Vladimir and Elena tried to give their offspring a decent education: the children read classical literature, and Benois and Dobuzhinsky came to teach them how to draw. Also, young Nabokov did not neglect sports: the boy loved tennis, football, cycling and playing chess. It is known that in the house of the future literary genius they spoke three languages ​​fluently: Russian, French and English, and the gifted boy mastered the latter to perfection.

But the Russian alphabet was initially difficult for little Lodi (Nabokov’s childhood nickname), because the child rearranged everything in the English manner. For example, instead of the word “have breakfast” from Vladimir one could hear “breakfast” (“breakfast” in English - breakfast). After home schooling, Nabokov entered the Tenishev School, from which the poet once graduated Silver Age, prose writer Nikolai Stanyukovich, publicist Oleg Volkov and other famous literary figures.

Vladimir came to school by car, accompanied by a driver in livery. By the way, the Nabokov family had three cars, which at that time was considered an unprecedented luxury. During his studies, the young man zealously pored over literature and was interested in entomology; in particular, the future writer loved collecting butterflies. It is noteworthy that these winged insects appeared in Vladimir’s works more than 570 times.

Literature

The creative biography of the master of the pen begins in 1916. Then the young writer publishes a poetry collection “Poems,” which includes 68 works. It is noteworthy that his teacher of Russian literature, Vladimir Gippius, criticized Nabokov’s first creative attempts to smithereens. He advised the student to forget about high art and direct his energies in a different direction. Fortunately, Lodi did not attach importance to the words of his teacher, letting his instructions fall on deaf ears.

In 1917, when Russian Empire the first seeds were “planted” October Revolution, the Nabokov family was forced to flee to Crimea. There, the aspiring writer gained popularity: his works were published in the newspaper “Yalta Voice” and were also used by theater troupes. At the beginning of his work, Nabokov gave preference to poetry: in 1918, Nabokov published the almanac “Two Paths”, in which he published poetic works Vladimir and his classmate Andrei Balashov. Among other things, the writer gets acquainted with rhythmic theory, which he tries to implement in his works.

The Bolshevik coup dealt a blow to many families, and the Nabokovs were no exception. Therefore, the writer and his parents moved to Berlin, the largest center of Russian emigration of those years. While the family lives in the capital of Germany, Vladimir receives higher education at Cambridge University, later teaching English language and also translates American literature.

In 1926, Nabokov's debut novel, Mashenka, was published. This book is imbued from cover to cover with philosophical thought and reasoning about the role of love on earth. It is worth noting that the plot of the work revolves around emigration, because main character Ganin moves from Russia to an unfamiliar country. The protagonist learns that the wife of his friend Alferov, Mashenka, is going to visit her husband. Seeing the girl’s photo, Ganin sees his ex-love, with whom he broke up when he was young. Therefore, the already forgotten feeling of the protagonist begins to fill his heart again, and Mashenka lives in memories, remaining behind the scenes in reality.

In general, Nabokov’s first book is the apogee of Bunin’s influence: Vladimir Vladimirovich tried to follow the beaten path of this writer. Therefore, in 1926, the student sent a copy of the first novel to his mentor with the signature: “Don’t judge me too harshly, I beg you.” Ivan Alekseevich did not even bother to answer the aspiring novelist, making notes on one of the pages of the book: “Oh, how bad!” The fact is that Bunin judged a writer’s talent by his elegance in literature, putting the author’s reasoning in the background.

Also in Berlin, Nabokov wrote the novels “The Gift” (1935–1937), “Invitation to Execution” (1935–1936), “Despair” (1934), etc. Most of the manuscripts were published in the journal “Modern Notes”, and Vladimir was recognized under the pseudonym “Sirin”.

In 1936, when Nabokov came to power, Nabokov’s wife was fired due to the xenophobia that was progressing in the country. From Berlin the road led to France, and from there the writer left for America, where from 1940 to 1958 he worked as a teacher at American universities. Vladimir Nabokov's lectures on literature were popular among students, because the master was one of those few teachers who could make any listener absorb knowledge like a sponge.

Having become a writer, Sirin invented his own style: his works were characterized by a bright and unique handwriting, which was later borrowed by some authors, for example, Sokolov or Bitov. Nabokov, like , meticulously analyzed state of mind the main characters and “mixed” all the synesthetic sensations and memories with an unpredictable climax and denouement. The master also loved puns and meticulous descriptions of even the most insignificant details.

In 1955, the Parisian publishing house Olympia Press published Vladimir Vladimirovich’s novel “Lolita” - the most famous philosophical work writer with a touch of frustration and eroticism. In the 1960s, Nabokov translated the work into Russian. By the way, “Lolita” is not the only work based on the love of an adult for a teenager. Before this, the writer published a book with a similar theme - “Camera Obscura” (1932).

“Lolita” is considered a world bestseller, but at first, for obvious reasons, the book suffered the same fate as Joyce’s novel “Ulysses.” Publishers considered Nabokov's plot pornographic, and in some countries a taboo was imposed on the work. And this is not surprising, because the master described the passionate feelings of an adult man for the 12-year-old nymphet Dolores.

However, Sirin himself was frightened by such thoughts, so at one time he wanted, like, to burn his manuscript, which was written thanks to the influence of the English sexologist Havelock Ellis. It was because of this eccentric novel that they did not dare to give Sirin the well-deserved Nobel Prize in Literature. Also, the story of a frivolous girl and her adult admirer was filmed twice: in 1962 (the script was written by Sirin himself), and in 1997, directed by Adrian Lyne.

Personal life

According to rumors, Nabokov was extremely amorous as a child: when he was 15, he fell in love with the peasant daughter Polya, and at the age of 16 he developed feelings for a plump, short girl, Valentina Shulgina. According to the writer's recollections, it was love at first sight. Young people met in secret and hid from the eyes of their parents. After graduating from the gymnasium, Nabokov promised to marry Tamara (as the writer called his passion), but after moving to Crimea their connection was severed. Shulgina became the prototype of Mashenka in the novel of the same name.

In 1922, Nabokov met with Svetlana Siewert, but their union was not successful: the beloved’s parents were against Vladimir, because they believed that the writer did not have a permanent job at that time.

In 1925, the writer married a girl of Jewish origin, Vera Solonim, who became his guardian. literary heritage. For example, after the death of her husband, she translated Nabokov’s novel “Pale Fire”. This beautiful black-eyed woman not only shared the master’s love for creativity, but also engaged with him in his favorite pastime - catching butterflies. On May 10, 1934, a son, Dmitry, was born into the Nabokov family, who in the future became an American translator (including translating his father’s works) and an opera singer.

Death

IN recent years Vladimir lives in a picturesque city in western Switzerland - Motreux - and is engaged in literary activity. Notable novels written by Nabokov during this period include Pale Fire (1961) and Adu (1969).

In the summer of 1977, Vladimir Nabokov died of a severe bronchial infection. The body of the literary genius was cremated and buried in the Clarens cemetery. On the novelist’s grave it is written: “Vladimir Nabokov, writer.”

“Laura and Her Original” is the last and unfinished novel of the writer, published posthumously. The master left a will for the manuscript to be destroyed, but the writer’s widow disobeyed last wish husband and shortly before her death asked Dmitry to fulfill his father’s will. But in 2008, Dmitry Vladimirovich decided that the writer’s unfinished novel should be published.

Quotes

• “Loneliness, as a situation, can be corrected, but as a condition, it is an incurable disease.”
• “The three-syllable formula of human life: the irrevocability of the past, the insatiability of the present and the unpredictability of the future.”
• "Literature professors tend to come up with problems like, 'What was the author trying to achieve?' or even worse: “What does the book want to say?” I belong to those writers who, having conceived a book, have no other goal than to get rid of it.”
• “Life is a big surprise. Perhaps death will be an even bigger surprise.”

Bibliography

• "Mashenka" (1926)
• "King, Queen, Jack" (1928)
• "Defense of Luzhin" (1930)
• "Feat" (1932)
• "Camera Obscura" (1932)
• "Despair" (1934)
• "Invitation to Execution" (1936)
• "The Gift" (1938)
• "The True Life of Sebastian Knight" (1941)
• "Under the Sign of the Illegitimate" (1947)
• "Lolita" (eng. Lolita) (1955)
• "Pnin" (eng. Pnin) (1957)
• "Pale Fire" (1962)
• "Ada, or the Joy of Passion: A Family Chronicle" (1969)
• "Laura and Her Original" (1975-1977, published posthumously in 2009)

Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov(also published under the pseudonym Sirin; April 10, 1899, St. Petersburg - July 2, 1977, Montreux) - Russian and American writer, poet, translator, literary critic and entomologist.

Biography

St. Petersburg Museum of V.V. Nabokov. The museum is housed in a house that belonged to the Nabokov family since 1897. Vladimir Nabokov was born here in 1899 and spent the first 18 years of his life in this house

Vladimir Nabokov was born on April 10 (22), 1899 in St. Petersburg into a wealthy noble family.

Father - Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov (1869-1922), lawyer, famous politician, one of the leaders of the Constitutional Democratic Party (Cadet Party), from the Russian old noble family of the Nabokovs. Mother - Elena Ivanovna (nee Rukavishnikova; 1876-1939), the daughter of a wealthy gold miner, came from a small noble family.

In addition to Vladimir, there were four more brothers and sisters in the family:

• Sergei Vladimirovich Nabokov (1900-1945) - translator, journalist, died in the Nazi concentration camp Neuengamme.
• Olga Vladimirovna Nabokova (1903-1978), Shakhovskaya in her first marriage, Petkevich in her second.
• Elena Vladimirovna Nabokova (1906-2000), Scolari in her first marriage, Sikorskaya in her second. Her correspondence with Vladimir Nabokov has been published.
• Kirill Vladimirovich Nabokov (1912-1964) - poet, godson of brother Vladimir.

Paternal grandfather, Dmitry Nikolaevich Nabokov, was Minister of Justice in the governments of Alexander II and Alexander III, paternal grandmother Maria Ferdinandovna, Baroness von Korff (1842-1926), daughter of Baron Ferdinand-Nicholas-Victor von Korff (1805-1869) , German general in Russian service. Maternal grandfather Ivan Vasilievich Rukavishnikov (1843-1901), gold miner, philanthropist, maternal grandmother Olga Nikolaevna Rukavishnikova, ur. Kozlova (1845-1901), daughter of Nikolai Illarionovich Kozlov (1814-1889), doctor, professor, head of the Imperial Medical-Surgical Academy.

In everyday life, the Nabokov family used three languages: Russian, English and French - thus, the future writer spoke three languages ​​with early childhood. In his own words, he learned to read English before he could read Russian. The first years of Nabokov's life were spent in comfort and prosperity in the Nabokovs' house on Bolshaya Morskaya in St. Petersburg and in their country estate Vyra (near Gatchina).

Estate in Rozhdestveno next to Batovo and Vyra

He began his education at the Tenishevsky School in St. Petersburg, where Osip Mandelstam had studied shortly before. Literature and entomology become Nabokov's two main hobbies.

In the fall of 1916, a year before the October Revolution, Vladimir Nabokov received the Rozhdestveno estate and a million-dollar inheritance from Vasily Ivanovich Rukavishnikov, his maternal uncle. In 1916, Nabokov, while still a student at the Tenishev School, used his own money to publish in St. Petersburg, under his own name, the first poetry collection “Poems” (68 poems written from August 1915 to May 1916). This is Nabokov's only book officially published in Russia during his lifetime. Nabokov himself never republished the poems from the collection.

The October Revolution forced the Nabokovs to move to Crimea, where Vladimir had his first literary success - his works were published in the newspaper “Yalta Voice” and were used by theater troupes, many of whom were fleeing the dangers of the revolutionary times on the southern coast of Crimea. In April 1919, before the seizure of Crimea by the Bolsheviks, the Nabokov family left Russia forever. They managed to take some of the family jewelry with them, and with this money the Nabokov family lived in Berlin, while Vladimir was educated at Cambridge University (Trinity College), where he continues to write Russian poetry and translates “Alice in the Country” into Russian miracles" by Lewis Carroll. At Cambridge University, Nabokov founded the Slavic Society, which later degenerated into Russian Society Cambridge University.

In March 1922, Vladimir Nabokov's father, Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov, was killed. This happened at P. N. Milyukov’s lecture “America and the Restoration of Russia” in the building of the Berlin Philharmonic. V.D. Nabokov tried to neutralize the Black Hundred man who shot Miliukov, but was shot by his partner.

Berlin (1922-1937)

In 1922, Nabokov moved to Berlin; earns his living by teaching English. Berlin newspapers and publishing houses organized by Russian emigrants publish Nabokov's stories.

In 1922, he became engaged to Svetlana Sievert; the engagement was called off by the bride's family in early 1923 because Nabokov was unable to find regular work.

In 1925, Nabokov married Vera Slonim, a St. Petersburg woman from a Jewish-Russian family. Their first and only child, Dmitry (1934-2012), was heavily involved in translating and publishing his father’s works and contributed to the popularization of his work, in particular in Russia.

Soon after his marriage, he completed his first novel, “Mashenka” (1926). After which, until 1937, he created 8 novels in Russian, continuously complicating his author’s style and experimenting more and more boldly with form. Published under the pseudonym V. Sirin. Published in the magazine “Modern Notes” (Paris). Nabokov's novels, which were not published in Soviet Russia, were a success among Western emigration, and are now considered masterpieces of Russian literature (especially The Defense of Luzhin, The Gift, Invitation to Execution (1938)).

France and departure to the USA (1937-1940)

In 1936, V. E. Nabokova was fired from her job as a result of the intensification of the anti-Semitic campaign in the country. In 1937, the Nabokovs left for France and settled in Paris, also spending a lot of time in Cannes, Menton and other cities. In May 1940, the Nabokovs flee Paris from advancing German troops and travel to the United States on the last flight of a passenger airliner. Champlain, chartered by the American Jewish agency HIAS for the purpose of rescuing Jewish refugees.

Nabokov's grave in Cimetière de Clarens (Switzerland) USA

In America, from 1940 to 1958, Nabokov made a living by lecturing on Russian and world literature at American universities.

Nabokov wrote his first novel in English (“The True Life of Sebastian Knight”) in Europe, shortly before leaving for the USA. From 1937 until the end of his days, Nabokov did not write a single novel in Russian (except for the autobiography “Other Shores” and the author’s translation of “Lolita” into Russian). His first English-language novels, The True Life of Sebastian Knight and Bend Sinister, despite their artistic merit, were not commercially successful. During this period, Nabokov became close friends with E. Wilson and other literary scholars, and continued to work professionally in entomology. Traveling throughout the United States during his vacation, Nabokov worked on the novel Lolita, the theme of which (the story of an adult man who became passionately infatuated with a twelve-year-old girl) was unthinkable for its time, as a result of which the writer had little hope even for the publication of the novel. However, the novel was published (first in Europe, then in America) and quickly brought its author worldwide fame and financial well-being. It is interesting that the novel, as Nabokov himself described, was originally published by the odious Olympia Press publishing house, which, as he realized after publication, published mainly “semi-pornographic” and related novels.

Europe again

Nabokov returned to Europe and since 1960 lived in Montreux, Switzerland, where he created his last novels, the most famous of which are Pale Fire and Ada (1969).

Nabokov's last unfinished novel, Laura and Her Original. The Original of Laura) was released in English in November 2009. The Azbuka publishing house published its Russian translation in the same year (translated by G. Barabtarlo, edited by A. Babikov).

V.V. Nabokov died on July 2, 1977, and was buried in the cemetery in Clarens, near Montreux, Switzerland.

Addresses in St. Petersburg - Petrograd

Address plaque on the house of V.V. Nabokov in St. Petersburg

04/10/1899 - 1917 - Bolshaya Morskaya Street, 47.

Young Vladimir Nabokov. Saint Petersburg. 1907

Writing style

Nabokov's works are characterized by complex literary technique, a deep analysis of the emotional state of the characters combined with an unpredictable, sometimes almost thriller plot. Among the most famous examples of Nabokov’s creativity are the novels “Mashenka”, “The Defense of Luzhin”, “Invitation to Execution”, “The Gift”. The writer gained fame among the general public after the publication of the scandalous novel “Lolita,” which was subsequently adapted into several film adaptations (1962, 1997).

In the novels “The Defense of Luzhin” (1929-1930), “The Gift” (1937), “Invitation to Execution” (dystopia; 1935-1936), “Pnin” (1957) - a collision of a spiritually gifted loner with a dreary primitive “average human” world - “philistine civilization”, or the world of “vulgarity”, where imaginaries, illusions, and fictions reign. However, Nabokov does not remain on a narrow social level, but moves on to develop a rather metaphysical theme of the relationship between different “worlds”: the world of the real and the world of the writer’s imagination, the world of Berlin and the world of memories of Russia, the world of ordinary people and the world of chess, etc. Free the flow of these worlds is a modernist feature. Also, a sense of novelty and freedom in these works is given by the fact that in them Nabokov develops vivid linguistic techniques, improves his style, achieving a special prominence and tangibility of seemingly fleeting descriptions.

The sensational bestseller “Lolita” (1955) is an experience of combining eroticism, love prose and social-critical moral description, while simultaneously touching on popular topics, reaching the heights of sophisticated aesthetics and certain philosophical depths. One of the leading problems in the novel is the problem of selfishness, which destroys love. The novel is written from the perspective of a refined European, a scientist, suffering from a painful passion for nymphet girls as a result of his childhood love for a girl from whom he was separated a short time after meeting.

Lyrics with motives of nostalgia; memoirs (“Memory, Speak”, 1966).

Stories of amazing lyrical power. In miniature they contain many of the problems of the writer’s major works: the theme of the “other” world, the intertwined theme of a fleeting, elusive experience, etc. The most outstanding works in this genre: the stories “The Return of Chorba”, “Spring in Fialta”, “Christmas” , “Cloud, Lake, Tower”, “Terra Incognita”, the story “The Spy”.

Essays (“Nikolai Gogol”, 1944).

Translations into English of “Eugene Onegin” by Alexander Pushkin, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” and “A Hero of Our Time” by Mikhail Lermontov.

The poetics of stylistically refined prose is composed of both realistic and modernist elements (linguostylistic play, all-encompassing parody, imaginary hallucinations). A principled individualist, Nabokov is ironic in his perception of any type of mass psychology and global ideas (especially Marxism, Freudianism). Nabokov's unique literary style was characterized by a game of charade of reminiscences and puzzles of encrypted quotes.

Nabokov - synesthete

Synesthesia is a phenomenon of perception when, upon stimulation of one sense organ, along with sensations specific to it, sensations corresponding to another sense organ also arise, in other words, signals emanating from different sense organs are mixed and synthesized. A person not only hears sounds, but also sees them, not only touches an object, but also feels its taste. The word "synesthesia" comes from the Greek. Συναισθησία and means a mixed sensation (as opposed to “anesthesia” - the absence of sensations).

This is what Vladimir Nabokov wrote in his autobiography:

The confession of a synesthete will be called pretentious and boring by those who are protected from such seeps and strains by denser partitions than I am protected. But to my mother it all seemed quite natural. We talked about this when I was in my seventh year, I was building a castle out of multi-colored alphabet cubes and casually noticed to her that they were colored incorrectly. We immediately found out that some of my letters were the same color as hers, and in addition, she was optically affected by musical notes. They did not arouse any chromaticism in me.

Besides Vladimir himself, his mother and his wife were synesthetes; His son Dmitry Vladimirovich Nabokov also had synesthesia.

Nobel Prize for Literature

Beginning in the 1960s, rumors spread about Vladimir Nabokov's possible nomination for the Nobel Prize.

In 1972, two years after receiving the prestigious prize, Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote a letter to the Swedish committee recommending that Nabokov be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Although the nomination did not take place, Nabokov expressed deep gratitude to Solzhenitsyn for this gesture in a letter sent in 1974, after Solzhenitsyn's expulsion from the USSR. Subsequently, the authors of many publications (in particular, London Times, The Guardian, New York Times) ranked Nabokov among those writers who were undeservedly not included in the lists of nominees.

Teaching activities

Taught Russian and world literature, translated “Eugene Onegin” and “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” into English. The lectures were published posthumously by the American bibliographer Fredson Bowers. with the assistance of the writer’s widow V. E. Nabokova and the son of D. V. Nabokov: “Lectures on Literature” (1980), “Lectures on Russian Literature” (1981), “Lectures on Don Quixote” (1983).

Chess

He was seriously interested in chess: he was a fairly strong practical player and published a number of interesting chess problems.

In some novels, the chess motif becomes cross-cutting: in addition to the obvious dependence of the fabric of “Luzhin’s Defense” on the chess theme, in “the true life of Sebastian Knight” many meanings are revealed if you correctly read the names of the characters: the main character Knight is a knight on the novel’s chessboard, Bishop is a bishop .

Entomology

Nabokov was a self-taught entomologist. He made a significant contribution to lepidopterology (a branch of entomology dedicated to Lepidoptera), discovered twenty species of butterflies, and authored eighteen scientific articles. Curator of the butterfly collection ( Lepidoptera) at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University.

After the death of the writer, his wife Vera donated a collection of butterflies in 4324 copies to the University of Lausanne.

In 1945, based on an analysis of the genitalia of male blue butterflies, he developed a new classification for the genus Polyommatus, which differs from the generally accepted one. Later, Nabokov's point of view on the taxonomy of pigeons was confirmed using DNA analysis.

Nabokov about himself

I am an American writer, born in Russia, educated in England, where I studied French literature before moving to Germany for fifteen years. ...My head speaks English, my heart speaks Russian, and my ear speaks French.

Television versions of theatrical productions

• 1992 - “Lolita” (Roman Viktyuk Theatre), duration 60 min. (Russia, director: Roman Viktyuk, starring: The Unknown Gentleman - Sergei Vinogradov, Humbert Humbert - Oleg Isaev, Lolita - Lyudmila Pogorelova, Charlotte - Valentina Talyzina, Quilty - Sergei Makovetsky, Annabelle / Louise / Ruta / Elder Sister / Second Sister - Ekaterina Karpushina, Rita - Svetlana Parkhomchik, Young man - Sergey Zhurkovsky, Dick / Bill - Anton Khomyatov, Little girl - Varya Lazareva)
• 2000 - “King, Queen, Jack”, duration 2 hours 33 minutes. (Russia, director: V.B. Pazi, starring: Elena Komissarenko, Dmitry Barkov, Mikhail Porechenkov, Alexander Sulimov, Irina Balai, Margarita Aleshina, Konstantin Khabensky, Andrey Zibrov)
• 2001 - “Mashenka” - a television version of the play by the Theater Company of Sergei Vinogradov. In 1997, Sergei staged the play “Nabokov, Mashenka,” which opened the Sergei Vinogradov Theater Company. For this work, in 1999, he received the prize “For Best Plastic Directing” at the theater festival dedicated to Nabokov’s 100th anniversary. Duration 1 hour 33 minutes. (Russia, director: Sergey Vinogradov, cast: Ganin - Evgeny Stychkin, Mashenka - Elena Zakharova, Alferov - Boris Kamorzin, Podtyagin - Anatoly Shalyapin, Clara - Olga Novikova, Colin - Grigory Perel, Gornotsvetov - Vladimir Tyagichev, Maria Alferova - Natalya Zakharova)
• 2002 - “Lolita, or In Search of paradise lost"(Donetsk Academic Order of Honor Regional Russian Drama Theatre, Mariupol), duration 2 hours 25 minutes. (Act 1 - 1 hour 18 min., Act 2 - 1 hour 07 min.) (Ukraine, director: Anatoly Levchenko, starring: Humbert Humbert - Oleg Grishkin, Lolita - Oksana Lyalko, Charlotte Haze - Natalya Atroshchenkova, Claire Quilty - Alexander Harutyunyan, Louise - Natalya Metlyakova, Humbert in childhood - Mikhail Starodubtsev, Youth - Valentin Pilipenko, Doctor - Igor Kurashko, Dick - Andrey Makarchenko, Constance - Inna Meshkova)

Films about Nabokov

• 1993 - “Mademoiselle O.” - feature film Jerome Foulon, made in Russia and France.
• 1997 - “Vladimir Nabokov - Secret Passion” film by Valery Balayan, TVC, 1997.
• 1999 - “The Age of Nabokov.” Film by Leonid Parfenov.
• 2007 - “Nabokov: Happy Years (2 films)” - a documentary film about Vladimir Nabokov. Duration about 60 minutes. (2 parts, approximately 30 minutes each) (dir. Maria Gershtein)
• 2009 - “Geniuses and villains of a bygone era: Vladimir Nabokov” - a documentary television program from a well-known cycle in Russia. Duration 26 min (aired on November 17, 2009)
• 2009 - “Vladimir Nabokov. Russian Roots" - a documentary film about the family of a famous Russian and American writer Vladimir Nabokov. Duration 52 min (scriptwriters - O. N. Popova, O. V. Chekalina, director - O. V. Chekalina) (TIGR film company with the participation of the StudioOl film company)

Museums

In October 2006, the Vladimir Nabokov Museum in St. Petersburg hosted a photo exhibition “Nabokov's Addresses”, which presented photographs of the houses in which Nabokov and his family lived. Photo credits: D. Konradt, D. Ripple, I. Kaznob, A. Nakata and chief custodian“The Nabokov Museum” by E. Kuznetsov.

The asteroid (7232) Nabokov was named in honor of Vladimir Nabokov in 1985.

Novels

• "Mashenka" (1926)
• "King, Queen, Jack" (1928)
• "Defense of Luzhin" (1930)
• "Camera Obscura" (1932)
• "Feat" (1932)
• "Despair" (1934)
• "Invitation to Execution" (1936)
• "The Gift" (1938)
• "The True Life of Sebastian Knight" The Real Life of Sebastian Knight) (1941)
• "Under the Sign of the Illegitimate" Bend Sinister) (1947)
• "Lolita" (English) Lolita) (1955)
• "Pnin" (English) Pnin) (1957)
• "Pale Flame" Pale Fire) (1962)
• "Ada, or the Joys of Passion: A Family Chronicle" (eng. Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle) (1969)
• "Transparent Things" Transparent Things) (1972)
• "Look at the harlequins!" (English) Look at the Harlequins!) (1974)
• "Laura and Her Original" The Original of Laura) (1975-1977, published posthumously in 2009)

Stories

• "The Spy" (1930)
• "The Wizard" (1939, published posthumously 1986)

Collections of stories

• Return of Chorba (1930)
• The Spy (1938)
• Nine Stories (1947)
• Spring in Fialta (1956)
• Nabokov's Dozen: A Collection of Thirteen Stories (1958)
• Nabokov's Quartet (1966)
• Nabokov's Congeries (1968)
• A Russian Beauty and Other Stories (1973)
• Tyrants Destroyed and Other Stories (1975)
• Details of a Sunset and Other Stories (1976)
• The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov (1995)
• Cloud, Castle, Lake (2005)

Dramaturgy

• "The Drifters" (1921)
• "Death" (1923)
• "Grandfather" (1923)
• "Ahasfer" (1923)
• "Pole" (1924)
• "The Tragedy of Mister Morn" (1924)
• "The Man from the USSR" (1927)
• "The Event" (1938)
• "The Invention of Waltz" (1938)
• "Mermaid"
• "Lolita" (1974), (film script)

Poetry

• Poetry(1916). Sixty-eight poems in Russian.
• Almanac: Two paths(1918). Twelve poems in Russian.
• Bunch(1922). Thirty-six poems in Russian (under the pseudonym V. Sirin).
• mountain path(1923). One hundred twenty-eight poems in Russian (under the pseudonym V. Sirin).
• Poems 1929-1951(1952). Fifteen poems in Russian.
• Poems (1959)
• Poems and Problems (1969)
• Poetry(1979). Two hundred twenty-two poems in Russian

Documentary

• Nikolai Gogol(English) Nikolai Gogol) (1944)
• Notes on Prosody (1963)
• Lectures on foreign literature (English) Lectures on Literature) (1980)
• Lectures on Ulysses (1980)
• Lectures on Russian literature(English) Lectures on Russian Literature) (1981)
• Lectures on Don Quixote(English) Lectures on Don Quixote) (1983)

Autobiographies

• "Curtain-Raiser" (1949)
• "Convincing Evidence" Conclusive Evidence: A Memoir) (1951)
• "Other Shores" (1954)
• "Memory, Speak" Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited) (1967)
• “Nabokov about Nabokov and other things. Interviews, reviews, essays." Compiled by Nikolay Melnikov. Moscow: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, (2002) (“Strong Opinions. Interviews, reviews, letters to editors.” N.Y.: McGraw-Hill, (1973))
• "The Nabokov-Wilson Letters Letters between Nabokov and Edmund Wilson" (1979)
• “Correspondence with Sister” (1984)
• "Carrousel" (1987)
• "Dear Bunny, Dear Volodya: The Nabokov-Wilson Letters, 1940-1971." (2001)

Translations

• "Nikolka Persik." (fr. Colas Breugnon) (1922)
• "Anya in Wonderland" (English) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) (1923)
• "Three Russian Poets. (Selections from Pushkin, Lermontov and Tyutchev in New Translations by Vladimir Nabokov) (1944)
• "A Hero of Our Time" (1958)
• "The Song of Igor's Campaign. An Epic of the Twelfth Century" (1960)
• « Verses and Versions: Three Centuries of Russian Poetry Selected and Translated by Vladimir Nabokov"(2008)

Essays (“Nikolai Gogol”, 1944).

Translations into English of “Eugene Onegin” by Alexander Pushkin, “Hero of Our Time” by Mikhail Lermontov and “The Lay of Igor’s Campaign”.

The poetics of stylistically refined prose is composed of both realistic and modernist elements (linguostylistic play, all-encompassing parody, imaginary hallucinations). A principled individualist, Nabokov is ironic in his perception of any type of mass psychology and global ideas (especially Marxism, Freudianism). Nabokov's unique literary style was characterized by a charade game of reminiscences and puzzles of encrypted quotes.

Nabokov - synesthete

Synesthesia is a phenomenon of perception when, upon stimulation of one sense organ, along with sensations specific to it, sensations corresponding to another sense organ also arise, in other words, signals emanating from different sense organs are mixed and synthesized. A person not only hears sounds, but also sees them, not only touches an object, but also feels its taste. The word "synesthesia" comes from Συναισθησία and means a mixed sensation (as opposed to "anesthesia" - the absence of sensations).

This is what Vladimir Nabokov wrote in his autobiography:

The confession of a synesthete will be called pretentious and boring by those who are protected from such seeps and strains by denser partitions than I am protected. But to my mother it all seemed quite natural. We talked about this when I was in my seventh year, I was building a castle out of multi-colored alphabet cubes and casually noticed to her that they were colored incorrectly. We immediately found out that some of my letters were the same color as hers, and in addition, she was optically affected by musical notes. They did not arouse any chromaticism in me.

Besides Vladimir himself, his mother and his wife were synesthetes; His son Dmitry Vladimirovich Nabokov also had synesthesia.

Nobel Prize for Literature

Beginning in the 1960s, rumors spread about Vladimir Nabokov's possible nomination for the Nobel Prize.

In 1972, two years after receiving the prestigious prize, Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote a letter to the Swedish committee recommending that Nabokov be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Although the nomination did not take place, Nabokov expressed deep gratitude to Solzhenitsyn for this gesture in a letter sent in 1974, after Solzhenitsyn's expulsion from the USSR. Subsequently, the authors of many publications (in particular, London Times, The Guardian, New York Times) ranked Nabokov among those writers who were undeservedly not included in the lists of nominees.

Teaching activities

He taught Russian and world literature, translated “Eugene Onegin” and “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” into English. The lectures were published posthumously by the American bibliographer Fredson Bowers with the assistance of the widow of the writer V. E. Nabokova and the son of D. V. Nabokov: “Lectures on Literature” (1980), “Lectures on Russian Literature” (1981), “Lectures on Don Quixote” (1983).

Chess

He was seriously interested in chess: he was a fairly strong practical player and published a number of interesting chess problems.

In some novels, the chess motif becomes cross-cutting: in addition to the obvious dependence of the fabric of “Luzhin’s Defense” on the chess theme, in “the true life of Sebastian Knight” many meanings are revealed if you correctly read the names of the characters: the main character Knight is a knight on the novel’s chessboard, Bishop is a bishop .