The Enchanter

64. The Enchanter by Vladimir Nabokov]
translation: from Russian by Dmitri Nabokov, 1985
published: written 1939, found in the 1980’s
format: 113-page paperback
acquired: October
read: Dec 30
time reading: 2 hr 53 min, 1.5 min/page
rating: 4
locations: Paris and French Riviera
about the author: 1899 – 1977. Russia born, educated at Trinity College in Cambridge, 1922. Lived in Berlin (1922-1937), Paris, the US (1941-1961) and Montreux, Switzerland (1961-1977).

My latest Nabokov and his last Russian language effort in long fiction. This is a kind of precursor to [Lolita] (which I haven't read). It's also a pedophile story, written in 1939 in France (as WWII kicked off) in perfect Russian prose, apparently shared around a little, but it wasn't show more published and all copies and versions were lost. A single manuscript was rediscovered in the early 1980's, and was translated in 1985 by Vladimir Nabokov's son, Dmitri. It runs 77 pages in this paperback.

It's a terrific little story, funny on the surface, obviously pretty dark underneath. There is a lot of play in the way the story works out. The unnamed pedophile is crafty but doesn't really seem to think anything through. He tries to reason with himself, using the phrase "providential sophistry" brilliantly. (I had to look up both words). Then he stumbles upon what he sees as a golden opportunity - a beautiful pre-teen girl whose mother is a terrible mother, widowed and dying. He explores a bit, and then marries the dying mother, intending to inherit his victim. As the book works it out, he almost accidentally becomes a good person, supporting the lonely dying mother. He always stays decent outward, while entirely an animal on the hunt inside. He gets very frustrated and bitter with each piece of good news, as the mother stays well for a bit. Alas, things start to work out except that this story can only end it disaster.

Nabokov has many tricks here. I liked that the man first sort of plays god, manipulating everyone, but then suffers as he become subject to fickle fate. Things go his way and then they undermine him in humorous patterns, seriously messing with his patience and, well, his sense. It's such a playful touch, you almost forget all the harm he intends. The end feels a little rushed and convenient, but who knows which draft this was. An entertaining novella to end the year.

2020
https://www.librarything.com/topic/322920#7364291 show less

Non riesco a votarlo.
È scritto talmente bene e in modo talmente elegante che il torbido sfuma tra le parole ma il tema è così fastidioso che certe descrizioni(bellissime) possono creare disagio.
Gran bel racconto.

The story that eventually led to Nabokov's classic tale about one Dolores Haze aka Lolita. Perverse, passionate, funny, and extremely well-written-- not to mention some of the most crude things said in the most delicate language-- it has all the markings of a Nabokov.

I don't often add notes to goodreads but if you, like me, are browsing your library shelves for some Russian authors and you innocently pick up The Enchanter you might also be taken completely by surprise in that it's about an old guy who likes little girls. Gah! It totally gave me the heeby jeebies (technical term that) but the writing is amazing. I'm happy to be done with this one but I'll be immediately on to some more Nabokov...hoping fervently for no creepy old guys (and dutifully avoiding Lolita).

The ur-Lolita is a very very stark and startling departure from what Lolita is like. The structure is the same -- the narrator, the maternal marriage and death, the access to the girl (the word nymphet does not appear but you know that's what i mean) and the narrator's death. But this short, little novella has none of the infamous wordplay of Lolita, instead goes straight to the point. girls like her start their period early (so he only has a little bit of time before she's no longer his central point of focus) and mentions the shocks of lust that course through his body like the high of cocaine. There is no mind bending rationalizations for his actions, and the seething self loathing is apparent from the first page. I still need a show more couple of re-reads to really figure out how I am feeling about it, and at slim 50pages I can easily re-read it as often as I need to. show less

Racconto scritto nel 1939 in russo, è un primo esperimento di Nabokov nell'avvicinarsi al tema poi trattato in Lolita (1955). Ma le differenze sono molte, soprattutto nel modo in cui lo sguardo di chi narra si posa sul protagonista, nei confronti del quale la riprovazione morale - vestita di ironia e di una scrittura splendidamente ellittica ed elusiva - si dirige nettamente fin dalla prima pagina.

This was, evidently, a prelude to Lolita. The novella is simply written and the language has fluidity, but there are no characters named and it seems to be a study of the perversion of the main character. However, the ending is a surprising one but holds an almost deus ex machina. It was never published in Nabokov's lifetime. What is worth noting is the analysis, at the end of the short tale, of the novella by his son: Dmitri Nabokov- who tries to enter the world of comprehension revolving around his father.

3 stars.