Nabokov's Dozen: A Collection of Thirteen StoriesEach of these thirteen stories is a startling evocation of a single character or happening plucked from the special world of Nabokov's imagination: Czarist Russia, Central Europe between the two World Wars, the United States in the 1940s and 1950s. However, with the exception of Mademoiselle O and First Love, these stories bear no more than an atmospheric relation to the details of Nabokov's own life. He writes: "I am no more guilty of imitating real life than real life is responsible for plagiarizing me." Nabokov, like Gogol, is one of those rare modern writers who have been able to create and populate an entire world out of their own genius and to sustain that world throughout a variety of works. These stories reveal that genius at its most intense.--Adapted from book jacket. |
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Page 126
... Nice , a poker - faced girl with long earrings called at my hotel , asked to see me , took one look at me , apologized , and went away . In Paris , I received a telegram which jerkily ran , " NE VIENS PAS AL- PHONSE DE RETOUR SOUPCONNE ...
... Nice , a poker - faced girl with long earrings called at my hotel , asked to see me , took one look at me , apologized , and went away . In Paris , I received a telegram which jerkily ran , " NE VIENS PAS AL- PHONSE DE RETOUR SOUPCONNE ...
Page 146
... Nice . Beyond such routine action as forwarding false data to a few unlikely places , the police did nothing to help : one man bellowed at me for being a nuisance ; another sidetracked the question by doubting the authenticity of my ...
... Nice . Beyond such routine action as forwarding false data to a few unlikely places , the police did nothing to help : one man bellowed at me for being a nuisance ; another sidetracked the question by doubting the authenticity of my ...
Page 147
... Nice . Eventually she borrowed some from one of the log- women . She got into the wrong train , however , and traveled to a town the name of which she could not remember . She had arrived at Nice two days ago and had found some friends ...
... Nice . Eventually she borrowed some from one of the log- women . She got into the wrong train , however , and traveled to a town the name of which she could not remember . She had arrived at Nice two days ago and had found some friends ...
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Common terms and phrases
already appeared asked blue Boke brown called certain comes corner course dark door dream eyes face feel felt finally followed friends gave German glass Golubkov gone gray Hall hand happened head imagine keep kind knew lady Lance later leave less light lips living looked Mademoiselle matter means meeting memory mind moved never night Nina once one's Paris passed past perhaps person picture Pilgram present reading remained remember returned round Russian seemed seen shadow Shoe side sitting smile snow soon stand stopped stories street suddenly taking talk tell things thought told took train traveling trees trying turned Vasili Ivanovich voice waiting walked wanted wife window woman wonderful young