The World of Nabokovs Stories Literary Modernism Series

A century after his birth, Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977) remains controversial, provocative, and "cool." Yet while he receives acclaim as a major American writer, few of his admirers in the West know the unique place he occupies in his native Russian tradition. In this comprehensive study of Nabokov's short fiction, Maxim D. Shrayer explores how Nabokov eclipsed the achievements of the great Russian masters of the short story, Anton Chekhov and Ivan Bunin, with whom he maintained a dialogic relationship even as he became--in exile from Russia and his native tradition--an American writer. Drawing on Nabokov's unpublished manuscripts and letters, Shrayer analyzes the paradigms of Nabokov's poetics and tests them in studies of representative stories. He investigates Nabokov's dialogue with Chekhov and his rivalry with Bunin. This in-depth analysis places Nabokov's short fiction in the main line of his 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. "A brilliant reading of Nabokov's stories."
--Review of ContemporaryFiction

"Comparing the stories to those of Nabokov's 'older contemporaries'-Chekhov and Ivan Bunin-Shrayer places Nabokov squarely in the Russian literary tradition by painstakingly examining the stories' narrative components. In an approach that would no doubt have pleased Nabokov himself, Shrayer examines the stories through models of the reading process, incorporating Nabokov's own ideas of how one 'reads.' An important addition to Nabokov scholarship."
--Library Journal

"Shrayer's thoughtful and well-documented analysis of the Nabokov-Bunin relationship illuminates an important chapter in the development of twentieth-century Russian literature. His study as a whole will reward all who are keen readers of Vladimir Nabokov and of the Russian short story itself."
--Russian Review

" . . . an often brilliant synthesis of Nabokov's evolving literarypractice, his implicit philosophical outlook, and his interactions withhis cultural environment."

-John Burt Foster, Jr., Professor of Englishand Cultural Studies, George Mason University

A century after his birth, Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977) remains controversial,provocative, and "cool." Yet while he receives acclaim as a majorAmerican writer, few of his admirers in the West know the unique place heoccupies in his native Russian tradition. In this comprehensive study ofNabokov's short fiction, Maxim D. Shrayer explores how Nabokov eclipsedthe achievements of the great Russian masters of the short story, AntonChekhov and Ivan Bunin, with whom he maintained a dialogic relationshipeven as he became-in exile from Russia and his native tradition-an Americanwriter.

Drawing on Nabokov's unpublished manuscripts and letters, Shrayer analyzesthe paradigms of Nabokov's poetics and tests them in studies of representativestories. He investigates Nabokov's dialogue with Chekhov and his rivalrywith Bunin. This in-depth analysis places Nabokov's short fiction in themain line of his writing career. Through references to all of Nabokov'sstories, as well as to many novels and discursive writings, from the earlyémigré works of the 1920s to the late American works of the1970s, Shrayer delineates the principal historical and cultural contextsthat shaped Nabokov's development. Most importantly, he reveals the metaphysical,ethical, and aesthetic concerns that shaped one of the most significantbodies of modern fiction.

A native of Moscow and naturalized U.S. citizen, Maxim D. Shrayer is the author of three collections of verse and of Russian Poet/Soviet Jew. He teaches literature at Boston College.

A century after his birth, Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977) remains controversial, provocative, and "cool". Yet while he receives acclaim as a major American writer, few of his admirers in the West know the unique place he occupies in his native Russian tradition. In this comprehensive study of Nabokov's short fiction, Maxim D. Shrayer explores how Nabokov eclipsed the achievements of the great Russian masters of the short story, Anton Chekhov and Ivan Bunin, with whom he maintained a dialogic relationship even as he became -- in exile from Russia and his native tradition -- an American writer.Drawing on Nabokov's unpublished manuscripts and letters, Shrayer analyzes the paradigms of Nabokov's poetics and tests them in studies of representative stories. He investigates Nabokov's dialogue with Chekhov and his rivalry with Bunin. This in-depth analysis places Nabokov's short fiction in the main line of his 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. 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. Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration, Dates, and References List of Abbreviations Introduction 1. Writing and Reading the Otherworld Interlude: Mapping Narrative Space in Nabokov's Stories 2. Testing Nabokov's Paradigms The Creative Laboratory in "The Return of Chorb" (1925) Memory, Pilgrimage, and Death in "The Aurelian" (1930) Entering the Otherworld in "Cloud, Castle, Lake" (1937) Poetry, Exile, and Prophetic MystiÞcation in "Vasiliy Shishkov" (1939) 3. Nabokov's Dialogue with Chekhov: From "Lady with a Lap Dog" to "Spring in Fialta" 4. Nabokov and Bunin: The Poetics of Rivalry Coda Appendix: A Complete Annotated List of Nabokov's Short Stories Notes Works Cited Index A comprehensive study of Nabokov's short fiction, showing how he was consciously responding to the master storytellers Anton Chekhov and Ivan Bunin, placing him firmly in the Russian tradition.