The Enchanter

...but is it my own lack of a philosophically absolute morality, or Nabokov's ambiguity, that makes The Enchanter such an uncomfortable book to read? I will confess, to establish my critical credibility, that I have transgressed the Mosaic commandments about my neighbor's wife and, yes, also his maidservant. I didn't get to throw the first stone at Bill Clinton or wife-betraying John McCain for their sleazy behavior. But some behaviors do disgust me, outrage me, enflame me with vengeful wrath. Sexual violence toward children is so creepy that I'd throw away my objections to capital punishment for it. The Enchanter is a novella about the obsession of a middle-aged man with barely pubescent girls, in which the protagonist schemes slyly for months to gain access to such a girl, in the role of her widowd step-father, in order to seduce her and shape her to his fantasies. In the end, his hateful self-control fails and he tries to rape her. She screams, the "world" intervenes, and the hopeful pederast throws himself before a truck in the dark.There, I've told the story, spoiled the denouement, haven't I? But as always with Nabokov, it's the language that matters anyway, the wily tricks the master plays with our sympathies and susceptibilities, the bitter taste in the mouth this story leaves in the form of the realization that any of us might be as depraved and loathsome to ourselves as the nameless protagonist of The Enchanter. That's one possible reading, anyway, and the one offered by Nabokov's son Dimitri, who translated the novella from Russian to English. Is it my reading? Only provisionally, at best. The vividness of the sexual details and of the sadistic finale seem altogether too artful, so that I fear "somebody out there" will be enjoying them a bit too freely. (There I go, throwing the stone after all.) It's one thing to formulate an acceptable answer to the question of 'what Nabokov meant by such a tale.' It's another to be troubled by the question of 'why Nabokov chose to write such a tale.'Notice that I've made no mention of a connection between this novella, written in Europe, and a much more famous novel written later in America. Let's leave it that way, with the understanding that many of the same perplexities will arise.

"The Enchanter" is an incredible example of what Nabokov can do in less than 100 pages. The book is a portrait of a pedophile, in his own words. Despite the fact that it is a translation, the genius of the original text is carefully preserved by his son, Dmitri's rendition into English. The prose is practically verse. The use of language is pure genius. And the device of using the deviant mind as the story teller is again, just another example of Nabokov's incredible creative ability.As noted in the afterword by Dmitri, the title of the book most usually translates to "The Magician" but apparently, Nabokov indicated that his intended English translation should be "The Enchanter." Perhaps this is because the pedophile is enchanted with the concept of having a prepubescent girl to bring along through all the various sexualities that ran within his warped persona.Additionally, the story rolls along as an incredible pace. The last 10 pages being probably the most `enchanting' of all, as the story comes to a crashing crescendo of an ending. Like most of the writings of Nabokov, the book is an example of a brilliant novelist at his very best. Do not fail to read the afterword by Dmitri Nabokov, the translator and son of the author, especially where he disavows any direct relationship to "Lolita." It is recommended to those with a wide vocabulary and a not overly judgmental mind.

If you didn't know, Lolita wasn't Nabokov's first and only book with an age-discrepant theme. The Enchanter was published in 1986, but the Russian manuscript was written in 1939 while the Nabokovs lived in Paris. It took so long to be translated and published, because Nabokov thought the manuscript had been destroyed until he found it while gathering material to be given to the Library of Congress. In the novella, the 40-year-old protagonist did everything within his power to be intimate with a 12-year-old nymphet he fell in love with after he saw her skating in the park.Even some of Nabokov's published poetry contained an ephebopilia theme. In "Lilith", which can be found in his Selected Poems (2012) he wrote:Shielding her face and to the sparking sun\showing a russet armpit, in a doorway\there stood a naked little girl.\She had a water lily in her curls\and was as graceful as a woman. Tenderly\her nipples bloomed, and I recalled\the springtime of my lifer on earth,\when through the alders on the river brink\so very closely I could watch the miller's youngest daughter as she stepped\out of the water, and she was all golden,\with a wet fleece between her legs Katie

Liked it. Used it to read. Changed up my reading material.

I have read Lolita in the past, and admittedly was not mature enough to understand it's themes. The Enchanted reads like a kind of introduction to understanding Nabokov's work. The imagery and poetic flow of prose makes it a pleasant journey. While I don't feel my vocabulary is fully up to snuff, the complex words pose a personal challenge to increase my mental dictionary and try again.

Literary translations are seldom as rewarding to read as if one were able to understand the original, because it is the nature of the art form, to be at the vangard of comprehension in the first place. So something is lost in translation, or rather given over to the translator. In this instance the work of Dmitri is acceptable due to his reverential treatment of what his father could have meant, and to his meticulous study of each word's possible synonyms in both Russian and English.

The forerunner to Lolita. A very rich use of descriptive vocabulary. Essentially the tale of a dirty old man and the "object" of his affection (more literary than not.) It also had a really good ending IMO or at least how he wrapped up the story.

From here you gather the stirrings for what developed many years later into Lolita, that brilliant complete work which freed him financially to go on to his greatest accomplishments.

Nabokov has complete command of language. Published first in Russian in the late 30s this is a precursor to Lolita, and the translation was overseen by him. What on earth is it like in the original Russian? Cinematic, powerful, particularly the last three pages. Brilliant.

I purchased this book as a huge fan of Nabokov's 'Lolita'. Of course it's nowhere to the same standards as it a very thin story/short story, it gives incredible insight into the thought process behind 'Lolita' and is definitely a must read for his fans. The detailed notes in the beginning and end of the book are invaluable in understanding the context of the story and so are a great addition.

A difficult subject to read about and a deep dive into a sick mind. Beautifully written.

The literary master shines.