sirinrob Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 This is one of Nabokov's 'Russian Novels' and the second novel he wrote. It was translated into english in 1963. I found it to be both more polished and pyschologically darker than 'Mary', with elements that foreshadow 'The Gift' and 'The Real Life of Sebastian Knight'. The hallmark use of language is present, without the overt cleverness of the the 'American Novels'. These earlier novels are often overlooked, which is a shame as they are well written. This one concerns Luzhin, who is a chess master. His whole life revolves around chess. He eventually marries and is apparently weaned off chess, but the past has away of catching up with him. I found the story build up very well, the denouement only coming in the last few pages. I really enjoyed the novel and its now on my re-read list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimmyS Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Thank you for that. Only a couple of days did I choose this book from my "Books published in your birthyear" list. So now I am definitely getting this one first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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