The Enchanter (1986)

by Vladimir Nabokov

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Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
747	21	30,338	(3.66)	11
Nabokov described this novella, written in Paris in 1939 but only published twenty years later, as 'the first little throb of Lolita'. The plot is similar: a middle-aged man wedding an unattractive widow in order to indulge his paedophilic obsession with her daughter. However, The Enchanter has an utterly different atmosphere, as time, place and even names remain a mystery. Nabokov transforms his protagonist's attempts to lull his twelve-year-old step-daughter into a state of 'enchantment' into a graceful, chilling fairytale.… (more)

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English (19) Spanish (1) Italian (1) All languages (21)

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Маленькая дурно написанная книга о том, как мужчина мечтает изнасиловать девочку, которая младше его на 30 лет. Сбивчивый псевдообразный язык (который тут и близко не стоит с лучшими книгами автора, вроде «Приглашения на казнь») неумело пытается замаскировать бессюжетный поток педоэротических фантазий. Все мы знаем, каким прекрасным может быть Набоков, эта же книжка показывает, что так бывает не всегда. Лучше бы так и оставалось в неизданном. (

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solostand | Sep 17, 2023 |

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. (

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d.v. | May 16, 2023 |

Precursor to Lolita which i read in 2006. The subject matter is a bit uncomfortable and I allowed myself to stop half way through (when he’s about to take custody of her).

TanyaTomato | Apr 3, 2023 |

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). (

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sgwordy | Dec 31, 2022 |

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. (

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serru | Oct 6, 2022 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Vladimir Nabokov	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Nabokov, Dmitri	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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Volk und Welt Spektrum (257)

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Shaking a Leg: Collected Journalism and Writings by Angela Carter

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Canonical title

The Enchanter

Original title

Волшебник

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1986

People/Characters

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Epigraph

Dedication

To Vera

First words

"How can I come to terms with myself?" he thought, when he did any thinking at all.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

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Original language

Russian

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Canonical LCC

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The Enchanter

▾Book descriptions

Nabokov described this novella, written in Paris in 1939 but only published twenty years later, as 'the first little throb of Lolita'. The plot is similar: a middle-aged man wedding an unattractive widow in order to indulge his paedophilic obsession with her daughter. However, The Enchanter has an utterly different atmosphere, as time, place and even names remain a mystery. Nabokov transforms his protagonist's attempts to lull his twelve-year-old step-daughter into a state of 'enchantment' into a graceful, chilling fairytale.

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