- The Eye (novel)
infobox Book |
name = The Eye
title_orig = Sogliadatai
translator =Dmitri Nabokov
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author =Vladimir Nabokov
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language = Russian
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release_date =1930
english_release_date =1965
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followed_by ="The Eye" ("Sogliadatai"), written in
1930 , is Vladimir Nabokov's fourthnovel . It was translated into English by the author's sonDmitri Nabokov in1965 .Overview
At just over 100 pages, "The Eye" is Nabokov's shortest
novel . As in many of Nabokov's early works, the characters are largely Russian émigrés relocated toEurope , specifically German. In this case the novel is set in two houses where a youngRussian tutor, Smurov, has found board.Plot summary
The action of the novel largely begins after the attempted (perhaps successful)
suicide of theprotagonist . After his supposed death, his "eye" observes a group of Russian émigrés as he tries to ascertain their opinions of the character Smurov, around whom much uncertainty and suspicion exists.Themes
The novel deals largely with indeterminate locus of identity and the social construction of identity in the reactions and opinions of others. Smurov exists as a fraud, nobleman, scoundrel, "sexual adventurer", thief and spy in the eyes of the various characters. As the protagonist carefully collects these observations, he attempts to build a stable perspective on Smurov—whom we only belatedly discover is the narrator himself.
External links
* [http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/weye.htm A brief bibliography and summary of "The Eye" at Zembla.]
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