King, Queen, Knave

17.00

Title: King, Queen, Soldier

Author: Vladimir Nabokov

Translator: Reza Rezaei

Publisher: Third

Subject: Russian story

Age category: Adult

Cover: Paperback

Number of pages: 312 p

Language: Farsi

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Description

King, Queen, Knave is one of the works of Nabokov’s youth, a period in which, although he emigrated from Russia and lived in Europe, he still considered himself a Russian writer and also wrote in Russian;

At a time when Nabokov was still thinking of returning to Russia and did not believe that this unintended migration due to the October Revolution would be so long that he would have to choose another country and another language to continue his literary life.

However, “King, Queen, Soldier” was first published in Russian in 1928.

When Nabokov was not yet thirty years old, he was publishing his second Russian novel abroad after Mashnka.

Of course, more than the novel itself, translating it into German brought Nabokov little financial income and fame.
In this work, Vladimir Nabokov narrates the life of a rich couple who is destroyed by the arrival of their young nephew.

The Oedipal and tragic story of this love triangle has the theme of Nabokov’s other works, yet Nabokov’s humorous writing, by his own description, gives the novel a cheerful mood.

Nabokov was less than 30 years old when he published “The Baby Soldier” in Russia, yet it was published in German, which brought the young Russian writer so much fame and financial success that critics considered him to be famous. Nabokov owes this novel more than anything.

This animal (King, Queen, Knave) is the most carefree of all my novels. Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Nabokov writes as he should write with enthusiasm. John Updike The diversity, power, and richness of Nabokov’s perceptions have no counterpart in modern literature.

Martin Emis Vladimir Nabokov was a literary genius.
The novel is one of the works of Nabokov’s youth, a period in which, although he emigrated from Russia and lived in Europe, he still considered himself a Russian writer and also wrote in Russian;

At a time when Nabokov was still thinking of returning to Russia and did not believe that this unintended migration due to the October Revolution would be so long that he would have to choose another country and another language to continue his literary life.

However, “King, Queen, Soldier” was first published in Russian in 1928.

When Nabokov was not yet thirty years old, he was publishing his second Russian novel abroad after Mashnka. Of course, more than the novel itself, translating it into German brought Nabokov little financial income and fame.

Nearly forty years later, when his son Dmitry Nabokov began translating the novel into English, Nabokov oversaw the translation.

The passage of four decades had brought about great changes in the way Nabokov looked at and surrounded by fiction.
As he decided to make corrections to the novel, corrections that gradually gained strength and led to rewriting and fundamental changes in parts of the novel.

Nabokov described this work as one of his most lively and engaging novels, which was not affected by exile and grief.

Nabokov did not see his purpose in reviewing and modifying the work as embellishing a dead body, but as trying to make the novel, which he thought was still alive and breathing, one of his potential (but because of taste). And his lack of experience had not materialized in his youth).

Thus, the translated and rewritten version of the present work, published in 1968, found significant differences with the Russian version of 1928.

Of course, Nabokov’s claim in this regard was more to mitigate the impact of these changes in the artistic quality of the novel, as some critics believe that Nabokov, with his aristocracy over the strengths and weaknesses of the novel, often corrected his slips and flaws, as It did not show the inexperience of a young recruiter.
Nabokov was a prominent example of a multicultural writer. And was buried there as well.

He learned English in such a way that in the guise of one of the greatest English writers, he created literature and immortalized his name. Learning Russian and writing in English was his first step towards globalization in the new world he had chosen after emigrating.

This was a time when it was no longer an impossible dream to receive a triumphant return to one’s homeland among the people who regretted what they had done.

Vladimir Nabokov was fluent in both Russian and English, writing in both languages;

But despite having a proud Russian descent, as well as writing ten novels in Russian that make up more than half of his career; He is not considered a Russian writer.

It did not matter that he wrote in Russian and was of Russian descent, even when he used Russian characters and places, this perception did not change.

What mattered was that Nabokov was not related to the great novelists of Russian literature in terms of content and literary form.
Nabokov’s stories are multi-semantic and complex works in that the flow of thought is formed as a chain of associations of meanings in the form of give and take with the characteristics of literary and narrative elements.

This method, which is also seen in the present novel, has nothing to do with the Russian storytelling traditions.

Especially in its classical form, which was addressed or direct.

Also, in his stories, the heroes do not have a positive or negative effect, love does not have an explicit expression to be expressed by the characters, but it is expressed in the smallest details and tensions.

In general, the chain of meanings and values ​​in his works is in line with the mentality and worldview of modern Western literature.

It is from this perspective that Nabokov appears to be a completely non-Russian writer, and it is interesting to note that until the 1990s, when his works were allowed to be published in Russia, his compatriots did not know much about him and his works except for a few intellectuals.
In any case, the novel “Shah, Queen, Soldier”, despite belonging to the first period of its author’s biography and being written in Russian, is no exception to this rule;

Especially after the changes that Nabokov made when publishing the English version of the novel. As mentioned earlier, he raised it from the level of a translated work to the level of a work created in English, which has a poetic language, humor and expressive subtleties.

The Persian version has been translated from the same version. A work that, considering its special circumstances, beyond its literary and artistic values, is worthy of attention and study.

In addition to literature, Nabokov had other personal interests that have led to the writing of works outside the field, such as collecting butterfly collections or playing chess.

In addition to writing a book about chess, Nabokov has used it in various forms in his works. Like Lugin’s defense, which is more obvious in this regard than his other works.
The title “King, Queen, Soldier” has a direct reference to card games, but it is more of an allusion to the content of the work, which is narrated around the axis of a love triangle;

A story in which the three sides are made up of a woman and two men, and the characters can be compared to the king and queen and the soldier.

The place of events of this novel is not Russia and unlike his previous novel (Mashnka), even its main characters are non-Russian and German.

Therefore, the interest of the German publisher in those days to translate and publish this novel in German was not unreasonable.

This novel is the story of a wealthy couple, Dryer and Martha, whose volatile relationship takes on a different form with the arrival of Franz (one of their relatives).

Martha’s feelings of hatred and resentment towards Dreyer, her attempt to seize her fortune, and Franz’s attention to Dreyer and his fulfillment of his desires form a circle of complex relationships.
This fascination forms a romantic and sinister triangle that moves towards creating tragedy.

The novel has a themed plot and dramatic twists and turns, events that influence the characters’ decision and draw the story line in another direction, taking the reader with them.

Although Nabokov did not believe in Freud’s psychoanalytic theories and analyzes;

But in his works he usually paid attention to the analysis of human instincts and the role of their actions and reactions in human relations.

This is clearly seen in the relationship between the characters in the novel “King, Queen, Knave” Nir.

Finally, although the present novel is one of the works of the first period of Nabokov’s career, after the publication of its English version, it has become a work of the size of Nabokov’s readable and valuable works during his literary maturity.

Reza Rezaei has provided a fluent and readable translation of this work to the reader, which plays a significant role in inviting those interested in fiction to read this valuable work.

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