The Enchanter

By Vladimir Nabokov

The precursor to Nabokov's classic novel, Lolita. •  A middle-aged man weds an unattractive widow in order to indulge his obsession with her daughter.  • "A gem to be appreciated by any admirer of the most graceful and provocative literary craftsman." —Chicago Tribune

The unnamed protagonist of the story is, outwardly, a respectable and comfortable man; inside, he churns at the pubescent femininity of certain girls. Rare girls – one in a thousand – whose coltish grace and subconscious flirtatiousness betray, to his obsessed mind, a very special bud on the moist verge of its bloom.
 
Sitting on a park bench one day, he is tantalized by the fleeting form of just such a girl roller-skating on a gravel path. His desire to be near this beauty burns in him and drives him to begin a courtship of the child’s pitiful mother – a course that can end only in the disintegration of his life.
 
Over the years, the idea of The Enchanter grew; it changed; it developed “claws and wings.” By 1953 it was ready to furnish the basic theme of Lolita.

"The Enchanter is entertaining independent of its Lolita connection. It is arch, delicious and beautifully written." —Publishers Weekly

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Feb 16, 2011
• ISBN: 9780307787309

Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov (San Petersburgo, 1899-Montreux, 1977), uno de los más extraordinarios escritores del siglo XX, nació en el seno de una acomodada familia aristocrática. En 1919, a consecuencia de la Revolución Rusa, abandonó su país para siempre. Tras estudiar en Cambridge, se instaló en Berlín, donde empezó a publicar sus novelas en ruso con el seudónimo de V. Sirin. En 1937 se trasladó a París, y en 1940 a los Estados Unidos, donde fue profesor de literatura en varias universidades. En 1960, gracias al gran éxito comercial de Lolita, pudo abandonar la docencia, y poco después se trasladó a Montreux, donde residió, junto con su esposa Véra, hasta su muerte. En Anagrama se le ha dedicado una «Biblioteca Nabokov» que recoge una amplísima muestra de su talento narrativo. En «Compactos» se han publicado los siguientes títulos: Mashenka, Rey, Dama, Valet, La defensa, El ojo, Risa en la oscuridad, Desesperación, El hechicero, La verdadera vida de Sebastian Knight, Lolita, Pnin, Pálido fuego, Habla, memoria, Ada o el ardor, Invitado a una decapitación y Barra siniestra; La dádiva, Cosas transparentes, Una belleza rusa, El original de Laura y Gloria pueden encontrarse en «Panorama de narrativas», mientras que sus Cuentos completos están incluidos en la colección «Compendium». Opiniones contundentes, por su parte, ha aparecido en «Argumentos».

Reviews for The Enchanter

[adaorhell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The ur-Lolita is a very very stark and startling departure from what Lolita is like. The structure is the same -- the narrator, the maternal marriage and death, the access to the girl (the word nymphet does not appear but you know that's what i mean) and the narrator's death. But this short, little novella has none of the infamous wordplay of Lolita, instead goes straight to the point. girls like her start their period early (so he only has a little bit of time before she's no longer his central point of focus) and mentions the shocks of lust that course through his body like the high of cocaine. There is no mind bending rationalizations for his actions, and the seething self loathing is apparent from the first page. I still need a couple of re-reads to really figure out how I am feeling about it, and at slim 50pages I can easily re-read it as often as I need to.

[boredgames · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

amazing and compact and perfect in structure.

[danielstj · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was, evidently, a prelude to Lolita. The novella is simply written and the language has fluidity, but there are no characters named and it seems to be a study of the perversion of the main character. However, the ending is a surprising one but holds an almost deus ex machina. It was never published in Nabokov's lifetime. What is worth noting is the analysis, at the end of the short tale, of the novella by his son: Dmitri Nabokov- who tries to enter the world of comprehension revolving around his father. 3 stars.

[morcys · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have never tasted such exquisite prose as the one in this book.

[eightambliss · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Enchanter can only be described as a precursor to Lolita. Simply put, it is the story of a middle-aged man, who lusts after a young girl (who fits Lo's description with her nimble legs and chestnut brown hair). Her manages to seduce the mother, who dies rather suddenly and unexpectedly, takes the girl out of town with him, on a vacation. In her sleep he tries to touch her-and then she runs away screaming. Sudden, blatant ending? Don't be surprised. This book lacks all the charm, wit and grace that Humbert Humbert presents to us in Lolita. Furthermore, the man, mother and girl's names are never revealed, nor is his profession, nor really anything else, apart from physical descriptions. That is not to say that this is by any means a "bad book"; it is rather short and an easy read. It is just not Lolita, as we are so used to.Having said that, fans of Nabokov and Lolita should not miss. It allows us to see how a great novel was built, and it is fun to notice the similarities between the two.

[soylentgreen23 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The proto-"Lolita," if you will. Nabokov seems to rehearse the whole Lolita legend in this pretty, ugly little novella - the principal character, our guide to the affair, is the lothario more interested in the child than the woman, though his come-uppance is swiftly measured out. A fascinating introduction; when I have the time, I'll read the proper account.

[mmhubbell · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

After my Lolita extravaganza, I thought I may as well read this too! It was Nabokov's first draft of the idea that later led to Lolita. Written in Russian in Paris in 1939, he thought it had been thrown out, but much later (1970's?) arrived in a box of papers to his home in Switzerland. He intended to translate it himself, but never did. His son did after his death (they had worked together for many years translating Russian books to English)It's a funny contrast to Lolita. Several events are similar, but with twist. But the novella lacks the great eloquent beauty of Lolita, and the male character lacks any of the soul of Humbert and one doesn't feel much sympathy for him at all. He frankly just seems like a lecher, which is way too simplistic a term to ever apply to Humbert.It's a quick read and might be of interest to anyone who makes it through the annotated version of Lolita! (they should just add it to that edition..)