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kieranmehra's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Although I respect Nobakov, this book failed miserably at engaging me. I read it simply because I own it and wanted something to read at work but Jesus Christ. The characters are uninteresting, the plot is non existent and it feels like nothing more than an egregious demonstration of the author's vocabulary and ability to make sentences as long as humanly possible. Grating, exhausting, disappointing.
wmbogart's review against another edition
Pnin is the story of a lovable émigré egghead. When we’re introduced to him, he’s a guy that can’t catch a break. The narration mocks him. His broken English, juxtaposed with Nabokov’s mastery of sentences and form, is often played for comedic effect.
But this is soon problematized. Nabokov uses a unique episodic structure to give the reader different angles and context into Pnin’s character. We likewise gain insight into the narrator, whose perspective quietly colors the text.
The reader is left to reflect on their prior reading of Pnin. Some may have allowed themselves to laugh at tragedy. It is a lesson in empathy, and a call for more careful consideration.
Now, should the lesson in empathy have involved a character that isn’t obviously a stand-in for Nabokov himself? Maybe, maybe not. Write what you know, right? It’s a moving work nonetheless.
I will add that there’s a great literary device involving a squirrel here. Inspired!
But this is soon problematized. Nabokov uses a unique episodic structure to give the reader different angles and context into Pnin’s character. We likewise gain insight into the narrator, whose perspective quietly colors the text.
The reader is left to reflect on their prior reading of Pnin. Some may have allowed themselves to laugh at tragedy. It is a lesson in empathy, and a call for more careful consideration.
Now, should the lesson in empathy have involved a character that isn’t obviously a stand-in for Nabokov himself? Maybe, maybe not. Write what you know, right? It’s a moving work nonetheless.
I will add that there’s a great literary device involving a squirrel here. Inspired!
ruhh's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
018040's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
emmasbooklog's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
coco_lolo's review
4.0
What a strange, funny book. Timofey Pnin is one of the oddest characters I've read about in a while, and maybe that's what made him so endearing and pitiful. I'd only read short stories by Nabokov before this, so I didn't have much to go on; Pnin was such a smart novel, though, that I'm curious about his other works. I liked how each of the seven chapters focused on a different point in Pnin's life and on his relationships with other people. The choice in narration was funny and kept the story from becoming stuffy, and it wasn't until toward the end where things began clicking into place as to the narrator's identity.
hrlukz's review against another edition
“If people are reunited in Heaven (I don’t believe it, but suppose), then how shall I stop it from creeping upon me, over me, that shriveled, helpless, lame thing, her soul?”
nnikif's review against another edition
3.0
Тут, во-первых, присутствуют очерки о России, которую мы и они потеряли. Во-вторых, какие-то паззлы, игры в "найди Уолдо" — не знаю, где, если честно, не сильно и интересно; но сколько-то сюрпризов в книге определенно закопано. В-третьих — морисэшеровщина, непростые отношения персонажа с автором, достигающие гоголевского пафоса; Пнин делается практически Акакием Акакиевичем: "Оставьте меня, зачем вы меня обижаете". Но все и вместе и по отдельности легковесно, бездельно, непонятно, зачем и к чему. Умеет автор, но не могёт.
sonnetson's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a deeply moving book. The first half sets itself up as comedy, but as you enter the back leg, Pnin, the oddball clown, has his interiority probed. The culmination of Pnin's story is a celebration of him, cut short by his downfall, and then an epilogue that staves off any closure. Nabokov's writing is sublime, and reading this made me excited to explore more of his prose.