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Pnin (Penguin Modern Classics) (Paperback)

by Vladimir Nabokov (Author) "The elderly passenger sitting on the north-window side of that inexorably moving railway coach, next to an empty seat and facing two empty ones, was..." (more)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
RRP: Ł8.99
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Customers buy this book with Pale Fire (Penguin Modern Classics) by Vladimir Nabokov

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Product details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics; New Ed edition (7 Dec 2000)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0141183756
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141183756
  • Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 12.9 x 1.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 101,747 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #21 in  Books > Fiction > Cult Authors > Nabokov
    #21 in  Books > Fiction > 20th Century Classics > Nabokov, Vladimir

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Product Description

Product Description

Professor Timofey Pnin, late of Tsarist Russia, is now precariously perched on a college campus in the fast beating heart of the USA. In a series of funny and sad misunderstandings, Pnin does halting battle with American life and language.


About the Author

Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977) was born in St Petersburg. He wrote his first literary works in Russian, but rose to international prominence as a masterly prose stylist for the novels he composed in English, most famously, <I>Lolita</I>. Between 1923 and 1940 he published novels, short stories, plays, poems and translations in the Russian language and established himself as one of the most outstanding Russian émigré writers.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
The elderly passenger sitting on the north-window side of that inexorably moving railway coach, next to an empty seat and facing two empty ones, was none other than Professor Timofey Pnin. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Pnin (Penguin Modern Classics)
79% buy the item featured on this page:
Pnin (Penguin Modern Classics) 4.2 out of 5 stars (9)
Ł5.74
Pale Fire (Penguin Modern Classics)
10% buy
Pale Fire (Penguin Modern Classics) 4.8 out of 5 stars (5)
Ł5.74
Collected Stories (Penguin Modern Classics)
4% buy
Collected Stories (Penguin Modern Classics) 5.0 out of 5 stars (2)
Ł11.02
Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle (Penguin Modern Classics)
4% buy
Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle (Penguin Modern Classics) 3.9 out of 5 stars (10)
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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
5 star:
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4 star:
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3 star:
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2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfectly weighted, 6 Oct 2001
By A Customer
Pnin is nothing like Seinfeld. Rather than being crass and unfunny it is gentle and often very amusing. The format reminded me for some reason, of The Pickwick Papers. Possibly because the eponymous hero muddles through a series of comedy set pieces, consistently arousing the reader's sympathies despite (or even because of) his anachronistic personality traits and his continous struggle to retain some dignity in a commercial culture far more cynical than his own. Whilst being written to the extraordinarily high level you would expect, this is far maore accessible than other Nabokov. Humility and humour makes this a personal favourite; and I really do very rarely "laugh out loud" whilst reading, but with this book I often couldn't help myself.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Comic Nabokov but with a twist, 12 Jul 2006
Pnin is a wonderful exploration of 1950s America set against a backdrop of `corporate' academia in leafy, prosperous suburbia. The hero of the title is a Russian émigré, balding, middle aged, single and quirky. His life is dominated by an inability to settle into his lodgings, domestic traumas involving various gadgets (particularly heating systems) and a thick accent. I found Nabokov's sympathy for the character and his cynicism towards the establishment highly entertaining. Pnin bumbles along, worrying about a possible heart condition and interacting in an almost perpetually perplexed manner with fellow academics and fellow Russian émigrés. Pnin however has a history and Nabokov provides enlightening and sensitive accounts of his life prior to arriving in the US and past loves. I felt far more sympathy with Pnin than the deep wound of consumerism and personal ambition that scars the benevolent society that Pnin pursues.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars pnin not just a heartfelt profile, 17 April 2001
By A Customer
while there is the constant feeling of patronizing adoration of the bumbling professor, there is always the looming battle between him and his health, and the memories of his dead lover. the undertones make this novel so wonderfly complex and nabokovian .. reminding the reader that even the most benign looking of characters have memories influencing their everyday lives... overall a wonderful book much lighter reading than palefire, lolita, ana, but very much worth it!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful but confusing
The story of Timofey Pnin is a fairly enjoyable, if rather melancholic story. Many people have described this as a comic masterpiece however this mostly derives from Pnin's... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Camus in Airdire

3.0 out of 5 stars Pleasantly amusing but not brilliant in any real sense
Pleasantly amusing but not brilliant in any real sense. Written with panache, wit and richness (what else could be expected from Mr Nabokov? Read more
Published 14 months ago by Pablo K

5.0 out of 5 stars Warm, hilarious, poignant
Nabokov's writing can make me grin in the same way as when I watch Lionel Messi or Johan Cruijf play football - the exhilaration of seeing a master in action, in complete control... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Craig Lam

5.0 out of 5 stars The powers of muddle shall prevail
With Pnin we are introduced to Russian émigré, Timofey Pnin. Tenuously untenured at a New England college, he muddles through 1950s America with a unique variety of English of his... Read more
Published on 12 May 2007 by Manchester Manual

4.0 out of 5 stars Endearing and funny book...
This story about a russian professor named Timofey Pnin who lives in an american town in the fifties is an extremely satisfying read. Read more
Published on 3 Mar 2002 by queenfilo

4.0 out of 5 stars A Constant Smile About Nothing
Pnin is a lovely book, and it reminded me of Seinfeld in ways more than one.

Don't look for a George, a Jerry or an Elaine; maybe you can find some Kramer in Mr Eccentricity -... Read more

Published on 2 Jan 2001

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