Pnin, by Vladimir Nabokov

It is about an old, bald professor, teaching Russian language in America.

It has its little sentences that is little bit catchy, an interesting perspective, but this is a very confusing plot. I think this story could have a whole other meaning, better impact, if Vladimir Nabokov had written it differently. The plot was confusing as Nabokov was describing way too much about the character and each of their background stories, which makes the narrator not reliable.

The narrator is a man, who had to chance to be married with the bald professor, Pnin's wife, but was too late. The narrator later meet Pnin along the way through his life, as they both are growing up. But the narrator, this man, does not hear everything about Pnin's life until he meets Cockrell, a mutual friend, and they both see Pnin disappear in a truck.

This is suppose to be a novel with comedy element, but quite frankly I did not enjoy it, and it didn't make me laugh. Could it be that my humor has another sense, or could it be that it was badly written? For me, a definite fail of writing. It is not bad, but it is not good. Nabokov does not leave any freedom for the reader to get involved with the story. It is like a tv-screen in loss of connection, moving black and white lines and a scratching sound.

Each chapter is separated into different perspectives, or 'new episodes'. There were a very few which I enjoyed to read. Section 2, in chapter 1 almost got me a little excited. I wanted to know what was going to happen. Nabokov gradually lost me from chapter 2.

I finished reading it... it feels like I cleaned up the whole kitchen with the wrong cloth, it's still dirty.