Tildes Book Club discussion - May 2026 - Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov

This novel uses a very interesting structure for the narrator. We find early on that the narrator is a fellow of Pnin's. A doctor, like Timofey's father. Yet afterwards, his character takes a back seat until the final chapter. We're allowed to forget that this is the telling from an individual, and not an omniscient voice.

The narrator tells a selection of stories from Pnin's life, with no obvious thread connecting them. If one were to describe the events of the book to another, it might be considered very boring: someone organizes (or "Pninizes") a room they're renting, teaches to uninterested pupils, and hosts a dinner party. The intrigue, then, is of the peculiarities from the man Pnin himself.

We learn in the end that the narrator had hardly known Pnin. Or more specifically, Pnin hadn't bothered to get to know him. Their relationship was nearly entirely one-way, in part mirroring the relationship with the ornithologist, who'd always been there but simply went unnoticed.

Ultimately, the narrator seemed to internalize an idealized version of Pnin, much as Victor had early on. The way he describes Pnin as driving off into the sunset, a golden mist in the air, felt quite unreal. There goes a Russian gentleman, an academic, defined more by reputation than fact.

It makes me doubtful of just how reliable this narrator's telling was of Pnin (both the book and character). Many of his insights are merely second hand, and would lend themselves to being over-embellished and even caricature in nature. Was this retelling based largely on Cockerell's hours-long impressions? Or second-hand stories from those who'd barely gotten to know the man?

I've come away with the belief that we have gotten Timofey quite wrong. Yes, he has strange health problems, and like many immigrants, has had trouble adapting to New York City, but he's not a bumbling oaf. He is an academic, highly intelligent, and an amiable man. Most around him come to appreciate him. He understands and follows social protocol. He's likely still a terrible house guest, but an excellent host. His narrow interests may isolate him, but he's never presented as antisocial.

That is to say, he is just a man; flawed as we all are. Perhaps not special at all. Maybe the boring event of organizing a room really was just as drab as it sounded.

It's not just Timofey that we need to reassess. Liza, a woman we're told early on to mistrust, appears to be almost despised by the narrator. Thrice he rebuffed her, seemingly indifferent of her suicide attempt. Her marriages and subsequent divorces are described judgmentally, even though we know Eric Wind was not a good father. Could this be an old jealousy driving the narrative? I get the distinct impression their relationship went much further than was written down.

The last chapter had me reassessing the entire narrative, and I've come to treat Nabokov with distrust in this manner. He sure likes to play with narrative structure. However, where I do invest trust is in his healthy preponderance of punchy, hilarious quotes.

"Dr. Falternfels was writing and smiling; his sandwich was half unwrapped; his dog was dead."

This line caught me so off guard that it left me cackling. I genuinely had to stop for a full minute to recover.

There were a handful of lines of non sequiturs and stark contrasts, and I wish I'd written more of them down. Another one, from Victor's dream:

"The Palace, and its terraced gardens, and the city below the palatial hill, and the main city square, where decapitations and folk dances had already started, despite the weather."

Absurdity permeates this story. The author constantly plays with language, twisting it to suit the mood. It's delightful.

Since this novel is based on a Russian emigree, it likely mirrors aspects of Nabokov's own life. I wonder how much of the commentary of Pnin's difficulty with learning English was actually self-mockery of the author's own struggles? Or difficulties learning to drive?

I think I'm still unpacking this one, and I need to fully examine the novel in retrospect. I did enjoy it, though, and I'm looking forward to reading others' interpretations.