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The Real Life of Sebastian Knight
The Real Life of Sebastian Knight | Vladimir Nabokov
8 posts | 5 read | 9 to read
Spurred on by admiration for his novelist half-brother and irritation at the biography written about him by Mr Goodman ('his slapdash and very misleading book'), the narrator, V, sets out to record Sebastian Knight's life as he understands it. But buried amid the extensive quoting, digressions, seeming explanations and digs, Sebastian's erratic and troubled persona remains as elusive as ever. Nabokov's first novel written in English, The Real Life of Sebastian Knight is a nuanced, enigmatic potrayal of the conflict between the real and the unreal, and the futile quest for human truth.
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review
Graywacke
The Real Life of Sebastian Knight | Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov
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Pickpick

Still processing this, Nabokov‘s 1st English language novel. A biography of an author who died young, written by his younger brother. The subject author has a lot of parallels with VN. But our biographer is a mess. Unreliable narrator, clearly. But what‘s he doing? What‘s he searching for? A little tough to read because VN clowns around, playing with composition. Complex little thing that begs to be reread.

quote
Graywacke
The Real Life of Sebastian Knight | Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov

“With something akin to fanatical hate Sebastian Knight was ever hunting out things which has once been fresh and bright but which were now worn to a thread, dead things among living ones; dead things shamming life, painted and repainted, continuing to be accepted by lazy minds serenely unaware of the fraud.”

Morning quotes, 3 of 3 (no pictures)

quote
Graywacke
The Real Life of Sebastian Knight | Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov

“They must have had a glorious time together, those two. And it is hard to believe that the warmth, the tenderness, the beauty of it has not been gathered, and is not treasured somewhere, somehow, by some immortal witness of mortal life.”

(I‘m guessing Nabokov as atheist)

Morning quotes, 2 of 3 (no pictures)

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Graywacke
The Real Life of Sebastian Knight | Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov

“...the bridging of the abyss lying between expression and thought; the maddening feeling that the right words, the only words are awaiting you on the opposite bank in the misty distance, and the shudderings of the still unclothed thought clamoring for them on this side of the abyss.”

Morning quotes, 1 of 3 (no pictures)

Billypar I can 100% sympathize with this quote. I can picture my words watching my thoughts drifting away and thinking 'where the hell are they headed?'😅 3y
Graywacke @Billypar i think your poor words need a comfy chair and a strong cocktail. 🙂 I‘m not a writer, but I can relate and I like the insight and love the imagery in his description. 3y
30 likes2 comments
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Graywacke
The Real Life of Sebastian Knight | Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov
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Any Pynchon fans? In the introduction (by Michael Didra): “V. travels from England to Switzerland to Germany to France in his quest for the identity of the elusive femme fatale who wrecked his brother‘s life.”

That is practically a synopsis of TP‘s V. !! Turns out Pynchon took classes from VN at Cornell and this novel is huge influence on TP‘s novels V., Gravity‘s Rainbow and more. Turns out a lot of authors adore this. Huh...

Ruthiella I‘ve only read one book from Pynchon and one from Nabokov, so can‘t say I‘m a fan but I am often surprised/delighted when I can recognize the work of an older author in a more modern work. Makes me want to stop time and begin at the beginning with Gilgamesh, you know? 😅 3y
Graywacke @Ruthiella um.... I‘m kind of doing that. ☺️ 😁 i have so far deftly avoided philosophy and history, but...I‘m up to Petrarch this year. And Gilgamesh is terrific... 3y
Graywacke @Ruthiella also, I tried to read through Pynchon but gave up. Too much work, not enough enjoyment. (But V. is terrific!) I‘m on year 2 reading through Nabokov. He has a much much better joy/work ratio! 3y
47 likes3 comments
review
eeclayton
The Real Life of Sebastian Knight | Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov
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Pickpick

This is not your "kick back and relax" weekend read. Nabokov is brilliant, but you always have to pay close attention, you can't even afford to lose one line, otherwise you won't be able to follow/decode what's going on.

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eeclayton
The Real Life of Sebastian Knight | Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov
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"don't be too certain of learning the past from the lips of the present. Remember that what you are told is really threefold: shaped by the teller, reshaped by the listener, concealed from both by the dead man in the tale."

blurb
Billypar
The Real Life of Sebastian Knight | Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov
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1. Nabokov (if he's too modern, then Dostoevsky ☺️) And I'll go with Margaret Atwood...today.
2. Objectively it's no contest- night alone with books wins, but I do miss the nights out with friends- too few of those these days.
3. I like contemporary the most, but I like to read about all different periods from time to time to keep things interesting.
4. @Dulcinella and @Liz_M if you want to play and haven't.
@GarthRanzz

Billypar Thanks @merelybookish for the tag! 6y
merelybookish I have never read any Nabokov. 😮 6y
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Billypar @merelybookish No shame necessary- just means you're in for a treat! For a favorite author, I still have a lot of Nabokov to read. He's a tough one to recommend what to read first- I'd just say not Ada. But Lolita, Pale Fire, Invitation to a Beheading or even the tagged book could all work. 6y
merelybookish @Billypar Thanks for the recommendations! I always find quotations from Nabokov interesting but have avoided Lolita since it feels like a book I know too much about without having read it. 6y
Billypar @merelybookish I know exactly what you mean- I think that's Pride and Prejudice for me- I've seen at least 3 different film adaptations so it feels like I've already read it. 6y
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