The world of Nabokov's stories
By: Maxim D. Shrayer.
Series: Literary modernism series
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Published: 1999
Place of publication: Austin
Language: eng
Number of pages: 396
Subjects: Nabokov, Vladimir Vladimirovich, 1899-1977 -- Criticism and interpretation
Description: Drawing on Nabokov's unpublished manuscripts and letters, Shrayer analyzes the paradigms of Nabokov's poetics and tests them in studies of major stories such as "Spring in Fialta" and "Cloud, Castle, Lake." He investigates Nabokov's dialogue with Chekhov and his rivalry with Bunin over such issues as the use of narrative closure and the nature of love. This in-depth analysis places Nabokov's short fiction in the main line of his bilingual and bicultural writing career.

Through references to all of Nabokov's stories, as well as to many novels and discursive writings, from the early emigre works of the 1920s to the late American works of the 1970s, Shrayer delineates the principal historical and cultural contexts that shaped Nabokov's development. Most importantly, he reveals the metaphysical, ethical, and aesthetic concerns that shaped one of the most significant bodies of modern fiction.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [367]-386) and index.