Initially an almost grotesquely comic figure, Pnin gradually grows in stature by contrast with those who laugh at him. Whether taking the wrong train to deliver a lecture in a language he has not mastered or throwing a faculty party during which he learns he is losing his job, the gently preposterous hero of this enchanting novel evokes the reader's deepest protective instinct. Serialized in The New Yorker and published in book form in 1957, PNIN brought Nabokov both his first National Book Award nomination and hitherto ...
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Initially an almost grotesquely comic figure, Pnin gradually grows in stature by contrast with those who laugh at him. Whether taking the wrong train to deliver a lecture in a language he has not mastered or throwing a faculty party during which he learns he is losing his job, the gently preposterous hero of this enchanting novel evokes the reader's deepest protective instinct. Serialized in The New Yorker and published in book form in 1957, PNIN brought Nabokov both his first National Book Award nomination and hitherto unprecedented popularity.
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Add this copy of Pnin to cart. $21.29, new condition, Sold by Ria Christie Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Uxbridge, MIDDLESEX, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2004 by Alfred A. Knopf.
Add this copy of Pnin to cart. $23.06, new condition, Sold by Kennys.ie rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Galway, IRELAND, published 2004 by Everyman.
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Seller's Description:
New. Num Pages: 192 pages. BIC Classification: FA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 211 x 127 x 17. Weight in Grams: 302. 2004. hardcover.....We ship daily from our Bookshop.
Add this copy of Pnin to cart. $26.29, new condition, Sold by Blackwell's rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gloucester, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2004 by Everyman.
Add this copy of Pnin to cart. $29.68, new condition, Sold by Booksplease rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Southport, MERSEYSIDE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2004 by Everyman.
Add this copy of Pnin to cart. $40.00, like new condition, Sold by Sutton Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Norwich, VT, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Everyman, 2004.
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Fine in fine dust jacket. Hbk narrow 8vo, 143pp, ribbon marker, a new and unread copy, excellent clean tight unmarked in fine, unclipped and sleeve-protected dj, as new, gift quality.
To be honest, I think I will have to read this again someday, because I was so busy chewing on Nabokov's beautiful prose that I sometimes lost track of the bigger picture in terms of plot.
In any case, the characterization of Pnin, a hapless Russian professor working in upstate New York, is both tender and amused, especially as Nabokov utilizes a somewhat snobbish narrator who has his own definite opinions about the protagonist. Poor Timofey Pnin is a character you root for even as he continually gets lost, is put down by his colleagues, and is used by his ex-wife.
But, as I mentioned at the beginning of the review, it was the thick, practically tangible prose that kept me glued to the page. Nabokov just manages to make the world seem so vivid and pulsing, even in the most banal of situations, that he could write about doing taxes and I'd probably be captivated. While Pnin isn't as complete or compelling a story as, say, "Lolita," it's a worthwhile portrait of a well-meaning bumbler, and a tragicomic look at how society tends to deal with the Pnin's of the world.
