The novel 'The Gift' is Nabokov's last and perhaps most perfect work in Russian. It centers on the life of the young Russian émigré Fyodor Godunov-Cherdyntsev in Berlin, his creative path, and his development as a writer. The parallels with Nabokov's own Berlin period, the beginning of his writing career under the pseudonym Vladimir Sirin, are immediately striking. While the author warns against comparing himself to the protagonist in the preface, few readers will resist the challenge of 'spot the ten differences.'

As in his other novels, Nabokov refracts reality, drawing parallels with his own life. His childhood in Russia, his warm relationship with his mother, and the death of his father—all these motifs appear in the novel, only the setting is altered. The novel also contains many parodies: Soviet critics, decadent émigrés, and Nabokov's contemporary writers all come under attack, but all the images are encrypted. Thus, the deliberate refusal to compare reality and fiction in the preface is a secret invitation to peer into the mirror images and try to decipher the novel 'The Gift.'

Abstract

'The Gift' is Vladimir Nabokov's last and longest novel written in Russian. Essentially, 'The Gift' is a metanovel, literature about literature. In it, Nabokov shows the life of a text—its conception, birth, and interaction with other texts.

The novel's protagonist, Fyodor Godunov-Cherdyntsev, is a Russian émigré in Berlin, an aspiring poet in search of his literary self. The book has no twists and turns as such; the plot represents Fyodor's inner work, his understanding of the past and the transformation of these memories into poetry.

There is much autobiography in 'The Gift,' despite Nabokov's deliberate denial of any connection with the hero. The writer encodes in the novel the events of his Berlin period, his childhood, his meeting with his wife, his love for his mother, and the death of his father. Nothing is said directly, but Nabokov's own fate is clearly visible behind the fictional plot.

Quotes

We will turn to Nabokov's last Russian novel, 'The Gift,' his longest and, perhaps, his [Nabokov's] best Russian text. Arzamas

Author: Vladimir Nabokov