Books by author: Vladimir Nabokov

This short "mystery" novel was quite interesting. If it was my first introduction to Nabokov and I knew nothing about him, I'd probably not want to read more. The writing is wonderful, but that only becomes obvious in the last few chapters. Nabokov was acutely aware of the literary cliches that he borrowed from, and this meta-awareness is wonderfully present in the prose, but cliche is still cliche. I won't reveal the ending, but it makes some of the early portions worth slogging through.

My wife and I read this one simultaneously, which was something of an experiment. I loved Nabokov's prose style in Lolita, particularly his constant wordplay, and while the subject matter is somewhat disturbing, it is treated honestly and powerfully.