Mary

Author: Nabokov
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: A is my novel. I began writing this book in Berlin, shortly after my marriage in the spring of 1925, and completed it by the following year. It is well-known that beginners in creative writing have a strong tendency to incorporate their own experiences into their works. They place themselves or a substitute into their first novel, not so much because of the attraction of ready-made material, but rather to shed themselves so they can pursue more beautiful things with a lighter load. This is one of the few general rules I accept. Due to Russia's extraordinary distance and the fact that homesickness is always a devoted companion in life, I have grown accustomed to enduring this companion's heart-wrenching quirks in public. I admit my strong emotional attachment to this first work without any embarrassment. The story depicts the consequences of exile in Berlin: the officer Ginz, who discovers from a neighbor's photograph that the woman he is waiting for, Mashenka, is actually his first love from his school days. In the following days, Ginz constantly reminisces about his past and the beautiful times spent with her. He sets his neighbor's clock back, replaces him to pick up Mashenka, and hopes to rekindle old flames with her. However, while waiting for the train, Ginz realizes that Mashenka is now married to someone else. No matter how much he longs for the past, it is gone. Finally, Ginz boards another train and leaves Berlin, heading to France to start a new life.