I was surprised by Pnin as I expected to like it after really enjoying Lolita, also by Nabokov. But I didn't rate this book at all, I found it dreadfully dull. Luckily, at only 169 pages, it's more of a novella and was over quickly. The character Pnin (pronounced Puh-neen) is a Russian emigre in America, working as a teacher of Russian at a fictitious university in the equally fictitious small town of Waindell. He is a bumbling academic with a life riddled by mishap and misfortune. There is just nothing pleasant to be gleaned from reading such a series of miseries, which I suppose we're meant to find tragi-comic.
I was frequently confused about who all the characters were, who the speaking voice was coming from, and even sometimes where the action was unfolding. Nabokov lapses into purple prose quite often, and I couldn't quite tell if it was intentional for ironic effect, or just his style. The titular character himself is just not interesting or funny enough to carry the story, and I didn't particularly develop any empathy for him by the end. I would not recommend this one, there are definitely better slice of life narratives out there.
Rating: 2/5
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