Pnin
Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov, published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group on June 18, 1989, is a reissue of one of Nabokov’s most beloved novels. This edition spans 208 pages and is presented in English. The story centers on Professor Timofey Pnin, a disoriented Russian émigré navigating life on an American college campus during the 1950s. Through a blend of humor and pathos, Pnin faces a series of comic and tragic misunderstandings while grappling with academic challenges and the whims of an unreliable narrator.
Readers will find a rich exploration of Pnin’s character as he strives to maintain his dignity amidst the absurdities of his situation. The narrative captures both the humor and the heartache of his experiences, from misadventures on public transport to the complexities of faculty life. With elements of satire and a focus on the human condition, this novel delves into themes of identity and belonging, inviting readers to empathize with Pnin’s plight.
Official synopsis Publisher
One of the best-loved of Nabokov’s novels, Pnin features his funniest and most heart-rending character. 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.
“Fun and satire are just the beginning of the rewards of this novel. Generous, bewildered Pnin, that most kindly and impractical of men, wins our affection and respect.” —Chicago Tribune
Professor Timofey Pnin is a haplessly disoriented Russian émigré precariously employed on an American college campus in the 1950s. Pnin struggles to maintain his dignity through a series of comic and sad misunder-standings, all the while falling victim both to subtle academic conspiracies and to the manipulations of a deliberately unreliable narrator.
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.
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