Pnin

De: Vladimir Nabokov

Narrado por: Stefan Rudnicki

One of the best-loved of Nabokov's novels, Pnin features his funniest and most heart-rending character. Professor Timofey Pnin is a haplessly disoriented Russian emigre precariously employed on an American college campus in the 1950s. Pnin struggles to maintain his dignity through a series of comic and sad misunderstandings, 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 listener's deepest protective instinct.

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.

Public Domain (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Nabokov writes prose the only way it should be written, that is, ecstatically." (John Updike)

A whimsical character study

Pnin is an excellent book. Short but very dense. It has a humorous tone that makes the book fly by. All hail Nabokov!

Why not leave their private sorrows to people?

“Why not leave their private sorrows to people? Is sorrow not, one asks, the only thing in the world people really possess?”
― Vladimir Nabokov, Pnin

This isn't just the last nail in my Nabokov coffin, this is the ground thrown on the coffin. Finito sweet benito. I've now read all his ficiton (both those written in Russian and translated into English later and those written in English). It is kinda sad. But so too is Pnin. I'd call the novel melancholy, but it isn't quite sad or melancholy. There is something too sweet and funny and eccentric to be easily categorized. It is Nabokov's Don Quixote novel. His protagonist is a professor of Russian barely holding on in a fictionalized university (modeled a bit on Cornell). He isn't exactly absent minded. In fact, his mind is almost too much there. But there is something romantic and lovely about him.

The prose was beautiful and a couple chapters were near perfection. Chapter 5: Pnin drives to The Pines was amazing. I also adored the just barely intrusive narrator V.V. (Vladimir Vladimirovich). The novel wasn't my favorite Nabokov (Ada, Lolita, Pale Fire are all way better), but it is lovey and deserves a strong presence on Nabokov's slightly dusty second shelf.

Less than stellar performance

I enjoyed the story of Pnin just like I enjoy anything written by Nabokov. However, while the narrator has very pleasant voice, the performance was ruined by a horrific pronunciation of Russian words which are quite abundant in the story. One may think that knowing the content of the book the narrator should have consulted somebody who actually speaks Russian and possibly practice a bit before undertaking such job.

for my money, my favorite Nabokov

narrator is great and captures the nuance. the story is very bittersweet and never fails to make me smile.

A gentle story whose purpose takes a while to become apparent

This is a gentle novel, all about impressions, atmospheres, and intimate histories. For the first third, I was wondering why I was not seeing a plot emerge. Now I understand that the piece is basically a lovely profile across decades, there are tensions, but they are subtle and do not consume the book. In the end you have read something valuable and insightful.

Nabokov’s a genius; Rudnicki must narrate all of Nabokov’s works.

I purchased the audio CD several years ago and loved it. Was wonderfully surprised that Audible had finally added it.
Mr. Rudnicki should be hired to record all of Nabokov’s extant works, ESPECIALLY “Lolita.”

The narrator, Stefan Rudnicki is the most incredible.

My first Nabokov novel which was absolutely enthralling. I could have keep listening another 5 hours.

Lovely recording

I have always loved Pnin, my favorite novel by my favorite author. Given its rambling nature, its many foreign phrases (in Russian, French, German), and its cast of characters with very different accents and speech patterns, deep-voices Rudnicki handles the reading very well. His accent for Pnin seems to play up both the comic quality of the character and his gruff-but-sweet core self.

Meh

I think it's just a bit too intellectual for its own good. Lots of humor, and some I'd wager went well over my head. And delicious prose, though at times I'd say a bit purple.

Overall, it was okay, thankfully short.

Amazing

Read years ago and loved it and listened and loved it again. VN is the master.