Major Issues
Author Links
Essay Questions

Major Issues

Historical, biographical, and ideological critics are warned to steer clear of Vladimir Nabokov, who insisted on art’s independence from politics, social issues, and morality. Most studies of Nabokov’s writing, accordingly, focus on either his stylistic virtuosity or his structural innovations. Critics observe that the action in Nabokov’s fiction is not to be found in the plot, but in the language. Scholars have examined the great delight that Nabokov evidently took in revelling in and playing with language: its sound, resonance, patterns, multiple meanings, and endless poetic and rhetorical possibilities. Other studies consider Nabokov’s unusual treatment of time in his work, and his experiments with chronology and temporality.

Author Links

Zembla
This huge gateway site includes an extensive biography, bibliography, timeline, images, criticism, and more.

Life & Times
This page includes reviews and articles from The New York Times, plus real audio.

Nabokov’s Interview
A 1967 interview from The Paris Review in which Nabokov discusses immorality, everyday reality, Russia, America, and literary influences. (Please note that you may be asked to download a Cyrillic language pack in order to view this site.)

Vladimir Nabokov: 1899-1977
This bio-critical introduction points out some of the dramatic events of Nabokov’s highly eventful life, and includes Nabokov’s definition of "a good reader."

waxwing
This intriguing site presents Nabokovian trivia, Nabokov’s literature lectures, bibliography, and "How to read Nabokov and not go nuts."