Transparent Things (novel)
Transparent Things is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov published in 1972. It was originally written in English.
Plot summary
This short novel tells the story of Hugh Person, a young American editor, and the memory of his four trips to a small village in Switzerland over the course of nearly two decades. He first visits the village as a young man, along with his father. In his second trip, Person's publisher sends him to interview R., a gifted and eccentric author. His third trip involves tragedy, murder, and madness. Finally, Person's fourth trip provides an opportunity for reflection on his turbulent past. In recounting Person's story, the narrator(s) guide(s) the reader through themes of time, love, authorship, and the metaphysics of memory.
|
|
Novels |
|
|
Short
stories |
Russian
|
- "The Wood-Sprite"
- "Russian Spoken Here"
- "Sounds"
- "Wingstroke"
- "Gods"
- "A Matter of Chance"
- "The Seaport"
- "Revenge"
- "Beneficence"
- "Details of a Sunset"
- "The Thunderstorm"
- "La Veneziana"
- "Bachmann"
- "The Dragon"
- "Christmas"
- "A Letter That Never Reached Russia"
- "The Fight"
- "The Return of Chorb"
- "A Guide to Berlin"
- "A Nursery Tale"
- "Terror"
- "Razor"
- "The Passenger"
- "The Doorbell"
- "An Affair of Honor"
- "The Christmas Story"
- "The Potato Elf"
- "The Aurelian"
- "A Dashing Fellow"
- "A Bad Day"
- "The Visit to the Museum"
- "A Busy Man"
- "Terra Incognita"
- "The Reunion"
- "Lips to Lips"
- "Orache"
- "Music"
- "Perfection"
- "The Admiralty Spire"
- "The Leonardo"
- "In Memory of L. I. Shigaev"
- "The Circle"
- "A Russian Beauty"
- "Breaking the News"
- "Torpid Smoke"
- "Recruiting"
- "A Slice of Life"
- "Spring in Fialta"
- "Cloud, Castle, Lake"
- "Tyrants Destroyed"
- "Lik"
- "Vasiliy Shishkov"
- "Ultima Thule"
- "Solus Rex"
- "The Word"
- "Natasha"
|
|
French
|
|
|
English
|
- "The Assistant Producer"
- "That in Aleppo Once..."
- "A Forgotten Poet"
- "Time and Ebb"
- "Conversation Piece, 1945"
- "Signs and Symbols"
- "First Love"
- "Scenes from the Life of a Double Monster"
- "The Vane Sisters"
- "Lance"
- "Easter Rain"
|
|
|
Plays |
Russian
|
- Death
- The Grandfather
- The North Pole
- The Tragedy of Mr. Morn
- The Man from the USSR
- The Event
- The Waltz Invention
|
|
|
Non-fiction |
Memoirs
and letters
|
- Speak, Memory
- The Nabokov-Wilson letters
- Selected Letters, 1940-1977
|
|
Criticism
|
- Strong Opinions
- Nikolai Gogol
- Lectures on Literature
- Lectures on Russian Literature
- Lectures on Don Quixote
- Notes on Prosody
|
|
|
Miscellanea |
|
|