Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nabokov (1899-1977) fled France with his family in 1940, just before German tanks rolled into Paris. In the U.S. he settled into a peripatetic life of permanent impermanence, and much of the first half of this volume is crammed with minutiae on his teaching, writing and lecturing. But Boyd illuminates the contours of Nabokov's mind with sensuous precision, piercing the public persona of a very private man. The Russian emigre watched in bemusement as Lolita --which brought him fame, fortune and creative freedom--underwent a "process of vulgarization" in the public imagination. Boyd, senior lecturer at the University of Auckland, offers fresh readings of Pale Fire , Speak Memory , Pnin , Ada , Lolita and the rest of Nabokov's oeuvre. He conveys a keen sense of Nabokov as an artist who embraced life as an inexhaustible surprise and who suspected death to be a release from the self's prison. Ultimately a triumphant and definitive biography, this volume completes the story begun with The Russian Years. Photos. First serial to New York Times Book Review; author tour.

Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Boyd concludes his study of the master novelist begun in Vladimir Nabokov: The Russian Years ( LJ 10/1/90). After the turmoil of the Russian Revolution and the rise of fascism, the latter half of Nabokov's life passes almost uneventfully. The major excitement comes with the publication of Lolita ( LJ 8/38), which brings Nabokov not only fame but also fortune enough to abandon teaching. Eventually the man seems to vanish into his works, which plays to Boyd's considerable gifts as critic. Lolita and Pale Fire ( LJ 5/15/62) receive sharp, illuminating criticism, although Boyd's defense of the virtually impenetrable Ada ( LJ 6/1/69) is more elegant than persuasive. A stimulating work, highly recommended for collections of modern literature. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/91.

-Grove Koger, Boise P.L., Id.

Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

布赖恩•博伊德，新西兰奥克兰大学英语系杰出教授，对美国、巴西、英国、希腊、爱尔兰、新西兰及俄罗斯的小说、戏剧、诗歌、散文以及从史诗到喜剧的翻译多有著述，成果在四大洲荣获多种奖励，并被译成12种文字。他最富盛名的学术成果包括《纳博科夫的<阿达>：意识之地》（1985,2001），两卷本传记《纳博科夫传：俄罗斯时期》（1990）、《纳博科夫传：美国时期》（1991），《纳博科夫的<微暗的火>：艺术发现的魅力》（1999），网站“阿达在线”，此外还编有八卷本的纳博科夫小说、回忆录、蝴蝶著述、诗歌翻译及诗集，最近的一卷是《微暗的火》（2011）。他对文学与进化论的研究也很著名，成果包括《论故事的起源：进化、认识与小说》（贝尔克纳普/哈佛，2009）以及合编的《进化、文学与电影读本》（2010）。

刘佳林，1965年11月生，上海交通大学人文学院中文系副教授，硕士生导师。主要研究方向：近现代西方文学及文学理论，比较文学及文化，传记写作及传记理论。近期主要成果有有：《比较文学概论》（参编，北京大学出版社，2002）、《论文明、权力与知识》（译著，南京大学出版社，2005）、《诚与真》（译著，江苏教育出版社，2006）、《汉娜•阿伦特：政治、历史与公民身份》（译著，江苏人民出版社，2007）、《纳博科夫传：俄罗斯时期》（译著，广西师范大学出版社，2009）、《外国传记鉴赏辞典》（副主编，上海辞书出版社，2009）、《尼古拉•果戈理》（译著，广西师范大学出版社，2010）。目前正承担国家社科基金项目“纳博科夫小说论”的研究工作。