The Gift (novel)

The Gift (novel)
Name	The Gift
Author	Vladimir Nabokov
Country	Russian émigré
Language	Russian
Genre	Novel
Publisher	Sovremennye Zapiski
Pub date	1937–1938 (serial), 1952 (book)
English pub date	1963
Media type	Print
Preceded by	Despair
Followed by	Invitation to a Beheading

The Gift (novel). *The Gift* is the final novel written in Russian by Vladimir Nabokov, widely considered his masterpiece from his Berlin period. Serialized in the émigré journal Sovremennye Zapiski between 1937 and 1938, it is a complex, metafictional work chronicling the artistic development of a young Russian émigré writer in Berlin. The novel intricately blends elements of literary biography, satire, and a profound love for Russian literature within its depiction of exile.

Plot summary

The narrative follows several years in the life of Fyodor Godunov-Cherdyntsev, a young, impoverished poet and the son of a renowned lepidopterist-explorer, as he navigates the intellectual circles of the Russian diaspora in Berlin. Fyodor's artistic journey involves writing a biography of the real-life literary figure Nikolay Chernyshevsky, which forms a critical and satirical centerpiece of the novel. His life intertwines with that of Zina Mertz, his muse and love interest, and is shadowed by the spectral presence of his lost father and the literary ghost of Alexander Pushkin. The plot is less a sequence of conventional events than a mosaic of Fyodor's literary projects, memories of his family's estate in Russia, and his observations of émigré life, culminating in the creation of the novel itself.

Characters

The central figure is **Fyodor Godunov-Cherdyntsev**, the aspiring writer and protagonist whose consciousness shapes the entire narrative. **Zina Mertz** is his intelligent, supportive neighbor and eventual beloved, who works for the fictional literary critic **Alexander Yakovlevich Chernyshevski**. Fyodor's father, **Konstantin Kirillovich Godunov-Cherdyntsev**, is an celebrated entomologist whose expeditions to Central Asia and presumed death haunt his son's imagination. The émigré milieu includes the well-meaning but mediocre poet **Koncheyev**, the publisher **Vasiliev**, and the chess-playing literary host **Mikhailov**. The historical figure of **Nikolay Chernyshevsky**, a key 19th-century Russian radical thinker and writer, is dissected extensively in Fyodor's biographical work.

Themes and analysis

The novel is a profound exploration of the nature of artistic creation, examining how art synthesizes memory, love, loss, and literary tradition. A major theme is the condition of exile, portraying the Russian diaspora in Berlin as a world of preserved culture, nostalgia, and intellectual fervor detached from its homeland. Nabokov investigates the relationship between literature and reality, famously parodying Nikolay Chernyshevsky's utilitarian aesthetics in contrast to his own values of artistic autonomy and aesthetic bliss. Additional layers involve the pursuit of a parent's legacy, the interplay between entomology and artistry, and the novel's own self-conscious structure as a "gift" to its reader and to Russian literature.

Publication history

*The Gift* was first published in serial installments in the Paris-based émigré journal Sovremennye Zapiski, though its fourth chapter—the entire biography of Nikolay Chernyshevsky—was omitted by the editors due to its perceived harsh satire. The first complete Russian-language book edition was published in 1952 by the Chekhov Publishing House in New York City. The English translation, a collaborative effort by Michael Scammell and Vladimir Nabokov himself, was published in 1963 by Putnam. This translation is noted for Nabokov's significant revisions and extensive commentary.

Critical reception

Upon its full publication, *The Gift* was hailed as a pinnacle of Russian émigré literature and Nabokov's most significant Russian novel. Critics like Edmund Wilson praised its intricate design and literary depth. Modern scholarly analysis, including work by Brian Boyd, regards it as a central text in Nabokov's oeuvre, essential for understanding his transition from Russian to English prose. The novel's demanding, allusive style and its devastating critique of Nikolay Chernyshevsky have been subjects of extensive academic study, solidifying its reputation as a landmark of 20th-century metafiction and modernist literature.

Adaptations

A direct film adaptation of the novel's sprawling, introspective narrative has proven challenging and remains unrealized. However, thematic and biographical elements of Nabokov's Berlin period and his preoccupation with lepidopterology are reflected in broader cinematic treatments of his life and work. The novel's influence is more strongly felt in literary circles, inspiring numerous critical studies and serving as a touchstone for discussions on exile, memory, and the art of the novel.

Category:Novels by Vladimir Nabokov Category:Russian novels Category:1937 novels