A Nursery Tale by Vladimir Nabokov, 1926
The magic trick:
Combining mature topics with a children’s fairy tale format
V is for Vladimir.
This story pairs nicely with Irwin Shaw’s “The Girls In Their Summer Dresses.” Both protagonists revel in their misogynistic fantasies, silently ogling every woman they see in the city.
Nabokov adds a dash of magic realism to his story – almost making it feel like a fairy tale. Oddly enough, the protagonist is named Erwin. He gets an enticing offer from a mysterious woman, claiming that he will be able to have his way with any woman he chooses throughout the day, so long as the final count is an odd number.
It’s scary and amusing and altogether weird – the way it combines the children’s tale format with something incredibly adult and sexist.
And that’s quite a trick on Nabokov’s part.
The selection:
Fantasy, the flutter, the rapture of fantasy! Erwin knew these things well. In a tram, he would always sit on the right-hand side, so as to be nearer the sidewalk. Twice daily, from the tram he took to the office and back, Erwin looked out of the window and collected his harem. Happy, happy Erwin, to dwell in such a convenient, such a fairy-tale German town!
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Just ordered a book of Nabokov essays in which he savages some venerated writers as I got fed up of lecturers telling me stuff was brilliant when I knew otherwise.