Peter Nabokov, anthropologist and scholar of Native American culture, is the first cousin once-removed of Vladimir Nabokov. His father is the composer Nicolas Nabokov, Vladimir's cousin.
"Rough drafts, false scents, half explored trails, dead ends of inspiration, are of little intrinsic importance. An artist should ruthlessly destroy his manuscripts after publication, lest they mislead academic mediocrities into thinking that it is possible to unravel the mysteries of genius by studying canceled readings."
Nabokov was born into a privileged Russian family, in a house with 50 servants where three languages were spoken. His childhood (brilliantly recreated in his richly evocative memoir, SPEAK, MEMORY), was idyllic, but he fled Russia at 20 after the Bolshevik revolution, losing his $2 million inheritance. He studied at Cambridge, graduating with honors, and lived for many years in a Berlin community of Russian émigrés, where his father was killed at a political rally. He began writing novels ther more...
Nabokov was born into a privileged Russian family, in a house with 50 servants where three languages were spoken. His childhood (brilliantly recreated in his richly evocative memoir, SPEAK, MEMORY), was idyllic, but he fled Russia at 20 after the Bolshevik revolution, losing his $2 million inheritance. He studied at Cambridge, graduating with honors, and lived for many years in a Berlin community of Russian émigrés, where his father was killed at a political rally. He began writing novels there, and later in Paris, where he lived with his wife Vera and their son. In 1940, the Nabokovs moved to the U.S.; he taught at Wellesley, and then became a professor of Russian literature at Cornell, where he is remembered for his colorful, idiosyncratic, and illuminating lectures. It was at Cornell that Nabokov wrote his most famous novel, LOLITA, the success of which enabled him to give up teaching and move to Switzerland, where he lived until his death. Nabokov saw his main theme as that of the writer as exile. His dazzling novels assure his place as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. He was also a beloved teacher, a more than competent lepidopterist, and a translator of many works of literature, including his own.less...
Beth wrote a review on Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited
Oh dear, after studying Nabokov I was a right little eager beaver, heartily looking forward to settling down and reading about all the key moments and little anecdotes from the man himself, only to find that he's ignored conventional biography in favour of writing about the fleeting nature of memory and the difficulty of representing sensation and atmosphere. Nooo! But I wanted to find out about, you know, schooldays and things! This was well written but too arty for my tiny little mind. If you're like me and just enjoy biographies for the fun stories then try searching out interviews with Nabokov for a good sense of his personality and, dare I say it, actual information about him.
Oh dear, after studying Nabokov I was a right little eager beaver, heartily looking forward to settling down and reading about all the key moments and little anecdotes from the man himself, only to find that he's ignored conventional biography in favour of writing about the fleeting nature of memory and the difficulty of representing sensation and atmosphere. Nooo! But I wanted to find out about, you know, schooldays and things! This was well written but too arty for my tiny little mind. If you're like me and just enjoy biographies for the fun stories then try searching out interviews with Nabokov for a good sense of his personality and, dare I say it, actual information about him.
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