Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0003469, Thu, 5 Nov 1998 14:31:13 -0800

Subject
Makine's reverse "Speak, Memory" (fwd)
Date
Body
From: Andrew Shaindlin <shain@umich.edu>


I just finished reading _Dreams of My Russian Summers_ by Andrei Makine,
and a comment on the listserv the other day brought something about it into
focus for me. I thought I would share it here in case others had read this
book and had any thoughts on the topic.

Someone here mentioned how _Speak, Memory_ allowed VN to filter the
quasi-romantic memories of his pre-revolutionary Russian homeland through
the lens of his transition to the West, with its very different
sensibilities. It struck me that in a way Makine's book does just the
opposite, by allowing a Soviet-born and bred author to filter the
enchantment of his grandmother's West through the lens of his experience
growing up in the USSR. I wonder if this is a coincidence, or if Makine saw
his work as a kind of "reverse" _Speak, Memory_?

Makine makes specific reference to Nabokov in at least two places in this book.

Andy Shaindlin
shaindlin@yahoo.com