Speak, Memory; An Autobiography Revisited

By: Vladimir Nabokov

The late Vladimir Nabokov always did things his way, and his classic autobiography is no exception. No dry recital of dates, names, and addresses for this linguistic magician--instead, Speak, Memory is a succession of lapidary episodes, in which the factoids play second fiddle to the development of Nabokov's sensibility. There is, to be sure, an impressionistic whirl through the author's family history (including a gallery of Tartar princes and fin-de-siècle oddities). And Nabokov's account of his tenure at St. Petersburg's famous Tenishev School--where he counted Osip Mandelstam among his schoolmates--offers a lovely glimpse into the heart of Russia's silver age. Still, Nabokov is much too artful an autobiographer to present Speak, Memory as a slice of reality--a word, by the way, that he insisted must always be surrounded by quotation marks. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Vladimir Nabokov (Russian, 1899 - 1977) was an important Russian novelist, poet and short story writer. Nabokov's first nine novels were in Russian. He then rose to international prominence as a writer of English prose. He also made serious contributions as a lepidopterist and chess composer. Nabokov's Lolita (1955) is frequently cited as among his most important novels and is his most widely known, exhibiting the love of intricate word play that characterized all his works. Lolita was ranked at No. 4 in the list of the Modern Library 100 Best Novels. Pale Fire (1962) was ranked at No. 53 on the same list. His memoir, Speak, Memory, was listed No. 8 on the Modern Library nonfiction list. Among his other important works include Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited (1966, Revised), Ada or Ardor (1969), and King, Queen, Knave (1968).

• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: B001PBTVXU
• Release Date: January 1966
• Publisher: Putnam
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.8" x 8.4"