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（Brian Boyd）新西兰奥克兰大学英语系杰出教授,国际知名学者,纳博科夫研究权威,成果荣获多种奖励,并被译成12种文字。他最富盛名的学术成果包括两卷本传记《纳博科夫传：俄罗斯时期》、《纳博科夫传：美国时期》,关于《微暗的火》、《阿达》的研究著作以及他负责的网站“阿达在线”。此外,他还编有《美国图书馆中的纳博科夫》（三卷本,1996）,合编《纳博科夫的蝴蝶》（与罗伯特•迈克尔•派尔合作）、《诗歌与译文》（与斯坦尼斯拉夫•什瓦布林合作,哈考特,2008）,并帮助意大利阿德尔斐七星诗社出版社和西班牙银河出版社编辑纳博科夫全集。他的近期著作包括《论故事的起源：进化、认识与小说》（贝尔克纳普/哈佛,2009）以及《文学的进化论研究：艺术与科学读本》（哥伦比亚,2009）。目前正研究撰写科学哲学家卡尔•波普尔的传记。

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。近期主要成果有：《比较文学概论》（参编）,《论文明、权力与知识》（译著）,《诚与真》（译著）,《汉娜•阿伦特：政治、历史与公民身份》（译著）,《外国传记鉴赏辞典》（副主编）等。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。