Original title: Соглядатай
Pages: 155
Edition Language: Russian
Series: no
Format: Paperback
Genres: Classics, Russian Literature
Goodreads
Blurb:
Nabokov's protagonist is a Russian émigré living in prewar Berlin, who commits suicide after being humiliated by a jealous husband, only to suffer even greater indignities in the afterlife.
My thoughts:
This was a short and wonderfully absurd tale of dreams and reality merging. I would confess that I did not understand the book and felt most of the time as wandering in a fog; and only at the end of the story there were some clear sight. The characters seem to emerge for a moment and retreat straight back to haze in such a way, that it is difficult to understand what reality is and what a figment is.
This was my first Nabokov's book and I fell in love with the language and writing style. While reading I had an urge to be alone in a quiet place not to miss a word, not to overlook the passage. I predicted the ending, but still loved how it was executed: nice and neat.
Our hero departs the world and enters the realm of fantasy and imagination. Life for our narrator is a tangled mess, an illusion, is anything actually real? Do we know who we are and who we used to be or are we merely a product of how others view us? We see the character through the eyes of others, his identity is shifting with every new person emerges: bankers, women, friend, and employer. And what is next you would ask... Nothing. Nabokov does not promise anything, but to observe, that is why his book is called The Eye and we should be satisfied with it.
Rating:
5/5 
5/5 
Adding this to my TBRs. I love Russian literature! Thanks so much for reviewing this :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you will like it. Most of the people start with Lolita, but I decided to take it slowly with Nabokov, and actually loved his writing style. Hope the translator will do the justice.
Delete