Despair

Vladimir Nabokov

1934 • 200 pages

Ratings15

Average rating4

Self-satisfied, delighting in the many fascinating quirks of his own personality, Hermann Hermann is perhaps not to be taken too seriously. But then a chance meeting with a man he believes to be his double reveals a frightening 'split' in Hermann's nature. With shattering immediacy, Nabokov takes us into a deranged world, one full of an impudent, startling humour, dominated by the egotistical and scornful figure of a murderer who thinks himself an artist.

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Popular Reviews

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egg

Willfully obtuse
get your nose out of the air
and look at yourself.

December 20, 2015

Jeff

Read this in an attempt to understand everybody's fascination with Nabokov, particularly the fact that so many folks dig Lolita as much as they do; I have tried several times to read Lolita, and just don't find it as entrancing as most folks.

I loved Despair, however. Relatively sparse writing, with the feeling of watching an accident happen in slow motion, this is a darkly existentialist book. It reminded me of Camus or Sartre, but with even more bleak humor. Will it be my gateway into enjoying Nabokov's most famous work? We'll see. I think I'll read Pale Fire next...

February 1, 2014