Library

This book is considered to be the prelude to Nabokov's famous work "Lolita". The author himself also said that the name "Magician" foreshadows the theme of "The Enchanted Hunter" in "Lolita". Here, the "Magician" is a lustful middle-aged man who woos a widow in order to gain access to her daughter. However, the magician uses his magic to turn desire into a fairy-tale dream, thus creating an ending that is completely different from "Lolita".

A collection of classic works by Nabokov, recognized as an outstanding novelist and stylist in the 20th century and the author of "Lolita". Each of the twelve works has its own characteristics, showing the unique aspects of Nabokov's creation, and together they form the magnificent and extraordinary creative spectrum of the novel master. The set contains "Lolita: The Screenplay", "The Complete Collection of Nabokov's Short Stories", the ultra-difficult experimental text "Paint Fire", the pinnacle work of his later years "Ada or Eros", the most autobiographical and humorous classic "Pnin", the memoir "Speak, Memory", the interview "Speaking of Myself", the last manuscript "The Prototype of Laura", as well as "Transparent", "The Magician" and "Look, those clowns!" "Nikolai Gogol".

"The Magician" is the predecessor of the famous novel "Lolita" by the novelist Navladimir Nabokov. According to the author himself, the title of "The Magician" foreshadows the theme of "The Possessed Hunter" in "Lolita". In the novel, the "magician" is also a middle-aged man who woos the widow in order to get close to her daughter. Finally, he uses magic tricks to turn his desire into a fairy-tale dream, thus creating an ending that is completely different from "Lolita". The novel is narrated in the third person, the characters have no names, and the location where the story takes place is exotic, while "Lolita" details the ins and outs of each element of the novel in the first person. Even setting aside its relationship with "Lolita", "The Magician" is still an interesting work and worth reading. The same book contains an introductory article by Nabokov's son Dmitry Nabokov.

"Transparent" is Nabokov's masterpiece, recognized as the master of novels in the 20th century. In it, Nabokov further developed an elegant writing style with a slow, almost languid pace. The protagonist, Hugh Person, is a melancholic and clumsy publisher who visited Switzerland four times in his life. He lost his father forever on the first trip, and met his future wife on the second trip. Eventually he embarks on a lonely sentimental journey, sweet-talking himself into his past. Person has been living in memories, insisting on staying in the same hotel every time he goes to Switzerland; at the same time, he tries his best to escape from memories, because memories can only bring pain. Nabokov writes about this ambivalence vividly, exploring the interplay between memories and reality with a light, transparent tone. The transparent world surrounding Person is an existence different from reality, and it is the silent history he carries.

A collection of classic works by Nabokov, recognized as an outstanding novelist and stylist in the 20th century and the author of "Lolita". Each of the eleven works has its own characteristics, showing the unique aspects of Nabokov's creation, and together they form the magnificent and extraordinary creative spectrum of the novel master. The set includes the most famous and controversial "Lolita", the dark fable "Laughter in the Dark" that parodies the melodrama, the youthful coming-of-age novel "Glory", the depiction of first love "Mary", the absurd and cruel fable "The Sign of the Bastard", as well as "King, Queen, Jack", "Defense", "Eye", "Despair", "Invitation to the Beheading" and "The Real Life of Sebastian Knight".

"Remembering the past, fascinating love." The novel master Nabokov's first attempt to make his name famous. Wilderness, autumn sun, cold rain, white birches, winter snow... The first love of the past is intertwined with the scenery of the motherland, and the memory is awakened by a name. "Mary" is the first novel of Nabokov, a recognized master of novels in the 20th century. It has extraordinary significance to the author himself: "Because Russia is unusually far away, and because homesickness is always your obsessed companion in a person's life... I admit my strong emotional attachment to this debut novel, and I am not embarrassed by it at all." Ganin, a Russian officer in Berlin, learned from his neighbor In a photo, he accidentally discovered that the neighbor's waiting wife, Mary, turned out to be his first love in middle school; in the following days, Ganin kept reminiscing about the beautiful past with his lover, so he set the neighbor's alarm clock slow and went to pick up Mary on his behalf, hoping to rekindle the old relationship... The author uses extremely keen sensibility and delicate writing to show the nostalgia for his first love and his motherland to the extreme. Russia's vast fields, autumn sun, cold rain, white birches, and winter snow reflect the past in the bright maze of memory.

"The only happiness in the world is to observe, spy, monitor, and examine oneself and others." Nabokov, the master of novels, plays with his techniques in this short novel. It is a short, bizarre and humorous detective story in the style of an allegory. It is a world in the eyes of a "multi-faceted man". "The Eye" is a long masterpiece by Nabokov, a recognized master of novels in the 20th century. It parodies the style of detective novels and tells the life of the protagonist Smurov. Smurov enjoys observing, spying, and examining himself and others. Due to his special identity, he only sees himself and others through the eyes of others, and protects his identity from being discovered. And his existence always depends on the reflection in other people's minds: a liar, a cruel officer, a sensitive young man, a decent gentleman, or a poor man who cannot love. The author weaves wonderful multiple worlds with coded text as crystal clear as raindrops, leading readers into a narrative maze, tracking Smurov's true identity, analyzing the intentions of the mysterious narrator behind it, and experiencing the pleasure of solving a mystery - "doing nothing else, just making a big, slightly glass-colored, slightly bloodshot, unblinking eye."

Nabokov's most autobiographical and witty classic. Originally serialized in four chapters intermittently in The New Yorker magazine from 1953 to 1957, it was Nabokov's first novel to attract widespread attention and popularity among American readers. Describes the life of an exiled old Russian professor teaching in an American university. Nabokov cleverly blended Russian culture and modern American civilization, and humorously and intelligently portrayed a distressed man who had lost his homeland, severed ties with his motherland's culture, and lost his love.

"I lie passionately and selflessly, like a nightingale singing." A wonderful work of "metafiction", a companion piece to "Lolita", a world in the eyes of a delusional maniac, a crime carnival in the name of art. The original novel of the film of the same name by the new film giant Fassbinder. "Despair" is the masterpiece of Nabokov's novels, which was recognized as the master of novels in the 20th century. It tells the story of how a middle-aged man who feels suffocated in the ordinary daily life gradually leads to self-division. He is a chocolate merchant. His life seems decent, but he is addicted to fantasy. His family seems happy, but he despises his wife from the bottom of his heart. He has excellent artistic taste, but his nature is cruel and ruthless. He used all kinds of lies and self-narcosis to rewrite his life, just like a writer carefully fictionalizing the plot of a novel. In the end, he chooses a homeless man who looks exactly like himself as a substitute, and begins a crime spree in the name of art... The "metafiction" technique is brilliantly presented in this book. This dishonest narrator constantly examines himself as if his soul is out of body, gradually revealing the conspiracy and intention, and leading the readers into a world of irrational illusions in the eyes of a fanatic. The book was adapted into a film of the same name in 1978, directed by the new film giant Fassbinder.

One of the most controversial and important literary works of the 20th century, it is not only a concentrated expression of the writer's personal artistic style, but also a well-known classic of postmodernist literature. The novel tells the story of a crazy love affair between a middle-aged man, a European immigrant who has received higher education but transcended moral boundaries, and a cute but dangerous and ruthless adolescent girl.