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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
What can you say about Pnin that hasn’t been said already? It’s Pnin! Well it’s a sorta story about a charmingly goofy Russian professor who has some trouble making it to a meeting, staying in boarding houses and dealing with women. It’s wonderfully written and basically funny and light. There a quick verve into a sad holocaust memory towards the end and then it’s revealed that the narrator is the guy who is screwing Pnin over at his job. A bit of a highfalutin shrug from me. Like most non-jack reacher works of fiction, it probably went over my head.
Vaguely disappointing. I was expecting something along the lines of Pale Fire, but Pnin was lacking the brilliant satire and unreliable narrator that made that book brilliant. Instead, it is a tepid tale of the pathetic but gentle Pnin and his life as a teacher in a small, Eastern college in the 50s. The story is told in mostly unrelated vignettes, whose main point seems to be to make fun of Pnin's faulty English, sentimentality, and general cluelessness. All of which left me cold and unimpressed.
The one interesting aspect of the book is the last chapter, when the undisclosed narrator takes up the tale. We are left with some interesting questions (who is the narrator? why does Pnin appear to dislike him, when one of his defining characteristics is that he likes everybody? what do we really know about Pnin, given his tale is told by a removed, unknown, and disliked narrator?), but they are not dealt with and, for me, it was a case of "too little, too late".
This is my 4th Nabakov and I think I have reached the conclusion that Pale Fire was amazing and everything else, not so much. I doubt I will be reading any more of his works.
The one interesting aspect of the book is the last chapter, when the undisclosed narrator takes up the tale. We are left with some interesting questions (who is the narrator? why does Pnin appear to dislike him, when one of his defining characteristics is that he likes everybody? what do we really know about Pnin, given his tale is told by a removed, unknown, and disliked narrator?), but they are not dealt with and, for me, it was a case of "too little, too late".
This is my 4th Nabakov and I think I have reached the conclusion that Pale Fire was amazing and everything else, not so much. I doubt I will be reading any more of his works.
What a wonderful little book. Each sentence penned is done so fervently, and it made me feel like I was along for the ride the whole book. I will say this dude knows like too much shit like how do u know about so many birds and nature shit and words I was in the dictionary for a good amount of the book. Change, love, the past, not fitting in, we’re all some of the themes present and at times I couldn’t help myself from laughing at Timofey, while others I felt geniunely bad. He just seemed forlorn and despondent for a good majority of the book. He just seemed like a good guy. Nabokovs prose is easily the best I’ve ever read, and it makes you wonder like why even read if it’s not written this stunningly cause like it’s just fire. Overall it was great. It was fire tho.
This book made me laugh out loud at a cafe, at city hall, and in my living room. I certainly did not understand all of the Russian and French, but I did look up a few English words that were familiar but not entirely known to me. What a pleasure to read Nabokov and enjoy his playing with language in a book that does not feature sexual deviation as a major theme. (I am not taking a swipe at Lolita, or Ada, or Ardor: I have not read the latter and do not reject the value of the former, although I did not enjoy reading it 35 years ago.) Who cannot love Pnin?
I liked it, but it never clicked for me the way Pale Fire did.
This gets a 4 mostly because It is juxtaposed against Lolita, which is a full-on masterpiece, and I have also just reread it immediately before this book. Pnin has all the delicious sentences you expect of the author. The book lacks all the sinister qualities of Lolita, which is kind of a relief, as that stuff was perfect, but exhausting once you turn the last page. Pnin, the title character, is just kind of a lovable, almost pitiable, dope. The book is at times hilarious and everyone in the story feels like they were molded from a very clay intended to be the end of a joke—with academic life being the thing we are laughing at most here. A cute story that is often gorgeously put, but isn’t the kaleidoscope of feelings that Lolita is.
What a wonderful little book. Each sentence penned is done so fervently, and it made me feel like I was along for the ride the whole book. I will say this dude knows like too much shit like how do u know about so many birds and nature shit and words I was in the dictionary for a good amount of the book. Change, love, the past, not fitting in, we’re all some of the themes present and at times I couldn’t help myself from laughing at Timofey, while others I felt geniunely bad. He just seemed forlorn and despondent for a good majority of the book. He just seemed like a good guy. Nabokovs prose is easily the best I’ve ever read, and it makes you wonder like why even read if it’s not written this stunningly cause like it’s just fire. Overall it was great. It was fire tho.
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Funny and sweet, tempered with sentimental sadness.
A boring book about a boring old man and his boring life. Loved every chapter of it. Honestly, this book has nothing special about it from the writing style to the MC to the plot, but somehow it turned out fantastic.
