Vladimir Nabokov tells us the story of Timofey Pavlovich Pnin, a Russian-born professor living in the United States, and his experiences of living life in a very alien culture.
The great joy of reading this story was, for me, how small individual and isolated incidents came together to create this beautiful portrait of a man, humorous at times, nostalgic at others, but always so richly layered. From taking the wrong train to deliver a lecture, to organizing a party for friends and colleagues, hosted with sombre propriety, we see a man who struggled throughout to meet life with the greatest possible dignity. Pnin reminded me at times, of Tagore's protagonists - with that deep pride and honour that shines through the darkness of poverty or humiliation around them.
That picture of Pnin washing the dishes ... Somehow that image has seeped into my mind and refuses to let go.
It would be amiss of me not to mention Nabokov's richly poetic narrative, of course. "A copious spring shower kept lashing at the french windows, beyond which young greenery, all eyes, shivered and streamed."
Absolutely breathtaking.
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