The Unreal Life of Sergey Nabokov
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
The Unreal Life of Sergey Nabokov
Buy Now for £18.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Ken Kliban
-
By:
-
Paul Russell
About this listen
In his novel based on the extraordinary life of the gay brother of Vladimir Nabokov, Paul Russell re-creates the rich and changing world in which Sergey, his family, and friends lived; from wealth and position in prerevolutionary Russia, to the halls of Cambridge University, and the Parisian salon of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. But it is the honesty and vulnerability of Sergey, our young gay narrator, that hook the reader: his stuttering childhood in the shadow of his brilliant brother, his opium-fueled evenings with his sometime-lover Cocteau, his troubled love life on the margins of the Ballets Russes and its legendary cast, and his isolation in war torn Berlin where he will ultimately be arrested, sent to a camp, and die in 1945.
A meticulously researched novel, in which you will meet an extraordinary cast of characters including Picasso, Diaghilev, Stravinsky, Magnus Hirschfield ("Tante Magnesia"), Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Cocteau, and of course the master himself, Vladimir Nabokov, this is ultimately the story of a beautiful and vulnerable homosexual boy growing into an enlightened and courageous man.
©2011 Paul Russel (P)2012 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
Another good intro into "the other Nabokov" is this article in Salon: https://www.salon.com/2000/05/17/nabokov_5/
A fine story, an intriguing character!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
Delightful novel that takes a look at the fictional gay brother of the famous Russian author Vladimir Nabokov. The novel jumps between two time periods, pre revolutionary Russia and the Second World War, eventually merging at the devastating climax in Berlin during the War. A rich tapestry of real historical characters is woven into the story line, namely Cocteau, Stravinsky, Diaghilev and Gertrude Stein etc. making for some amusing and intriguing scenes as Russell brings these characters to life. Russell's style is impressive and entertaining, however, at times it becomes almost too clever for its own good becoming a distraction to the momentum of the story. Overall an enjoyable read and listen on both Kindle and Audible respectively.What other book might you compare The Unreal Life of Sergey Nabokov to, and why?
A Stranger's Child, by Allen Hollinghurst.What three words best describe Ken Kliban’s performance?
Ernest sincere attempt.Could you see The Unreal Life of Sergey Nabokov being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?
The Woody Allen movie, Midnight in Paris, makes use of famous historical literary characters in an amusing and entertaining way, so there is good reason to assumes that Russell's book could be made into an absorbing movie. It has a good combination of humour and tragedy for an entertaining movie.Intriguing novel
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.