What are everybody’s thoughts on Pnin? I was disappointed by it - although it wasn’t a bad book by any means. It was my first Nabakov novel and I was expecting the prose to be more insightful, given the praise he gets. Pnin (the character) reminded me of Leopold Bloom. Both are naive, good hearted men who don’t fit in with their contemporaries. Although, Pnin seemed more a victim of bad luck, whereas Bloom is often antagonized for his ethnicity and because he is odd.
>>25459320It's my go-to counterexample for people who think Nabokov is a cold or heartless writer. Pnin began as a response to Don Quixote, a book Nabokov considered cruel for how relentlessly it used Quixote's suffering as the punchline of its humor. That's also why Pnin's own misfortunes are so often read as "cosmic" jokes at his expense.I liked his cameo in Pale Fire, and the contrast he has with Humbert. Pnin is odd, awkward, and easy to mock on the surface, but underneath he's compassionate and genuinely sweet.
>>25459342not op but should i read pnin before pale fire?
>>25459355Pale Fire is hard to read and even harder to understand, so if you haven't started on Nabokov yet, you should read Pnin first. Keep in mind that the two are opposites in terms of difficulty, so it's best to go gradually. They're also not connected in terms of story so don't force yourself through it if you don't want to obv.
Pnin is Nabokov's second best novel after Ada, it's a wonderful and very kindhearted book, but it's absolutely not the place to start. Try the Luzhin Defence or Lolita.
>>25459342Thanks for that background. I’ve always heard that Nabakov was hard on his own characters, which is why I was confused by Pnin - Nabakov seems to like him!Do you think Pnin is a self insert? The chapter where he’s finally able to fit in with the other Russian expats, but is nonetheless haunted by his memories of war and genocide, seemed particularly personal.>>25459423Thanks for the recs. I’ve read passages of Lolita that were intense but very moving. Which is why I was confused by Pnin’s comedy.
>>25459375useful stuff, thanks anon
>>25459459>Do you think Pnin is a self insert? The chapter where he’s finally able to fit in with the other Russian expats, but is nonetheless haunted by his memories of war and genocide, seemed particularly personal.Nabokov was an avid hater of allegories and frequently dismissed them when critiquing other works, such as the popular theory that Gregor Samsa's transformation into a cockroach in Kafka's Metamorphosis was an allegory for depression. So I think he would disagree that Pnin is a self-insert or a pathetic representation of him.It's worth noting, though, that only parts of the novel's events are based on Nabokov's own experience as a literature teacher. Nabokov was prone to making Pninian mistakes himself, like entering the wrong classroom (Google Alfred Appel's anecdote about it if you'd like). I'd rather not spoil it for you, but most of Nabokov's protagonists carry something of himself in them.
