Nabokov in Motion: Modernity and Movement by Yuri Leving

Abstract

Reviewed by: Nabokov in Motion: Modernity and Movement by Yuri Leving Tim Harte Leving, Yuri. Nabokov in Motion: Modernity and Movement. Translated from the Russian by Keith Blasing in collaboration with the author. Bloomsbury Academic, London, New York and Dublin, 2022. xvi + 335 pp. Illustrations. Notes. Bibliography. Index. £90.00; £23.99; £21.59 (e-book). 'The streetcar will vanish in twenty years or so, just as the horse-drawn tram has vanished. Already I feel it has an air of antiquity, a kind of old-fashioned charm', Vladimir Nabokov submits in his 1925 short story, 'A Guide to Berlin' (The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov, New York, 2008, p. 156). For Nabokov, [End Page 751] nothing could ever be static. Possessing an acute sense of modernity's fleeting essence, the Russian-American writer had a knack for grabbing onto the various trappings of modernity and probing them while they lasted. It is Nabokov's profound appreciation of modern modes of transportation that lies at the centre of Yuri Leving's Nabokov in Motion: Modernity and Movement. An excellent translation of his 2004 monograph, Vokzal – garazh – angar: Vladimir Nabokov i poetika russkogo urbanizma, this wide-ranging study of Nabokov's predilection for mechanized movement through the modern world takes to heart the dynamism of the era and transports the reader through an abundance of works and motion-filled motifs. Drawing upon an impressive command of Nabokoviana and modernist culture in general, Leving makes a compelling case for why Nabokov's fiction, poetry and non-fiction merits analysis through the prism of the modern, urban innovations encountered by the writer throughout his lifetime and storied career. Rather than provide a lengthy reading of just several works by Nabokov, Leving opts to take an expansive overview of the urbanism pulsating through virtually all of Nabokov's work. The result is a highly original, captivating study that comes as close as any literary study can to conveying the excitement and enticing thrills of the modern era. The critical insight and associations come fast and furious, yet that is what makes Leving's study so enthralling and unique. Not surprisingly, trains — along with those soon-to-be obsolete trams — take up the bulk of Leving's critical attention, as he explores the 'myth creation' of the train in not only Nabokov's work, but also contemporaneous literature and art of the era. Chekhov, Belyi, Bulgakov, Kafka and so many others make noteworthy cameos here to enrich the cultural tapestry woven by Leving as he delves into the modern milieu in which Nabokov emerged as a writer, first in Russia and then in Western Europe and the United States. As Leving argues, for Nabokov the train 'is not so much a means of conveyance for the characters, as much as it is a means for transporting references based on the rules of stylistics, grammar, and the game of literature' (p. 113). Engaging with Nabokov in this game, Leving probes the ethos and essence of train travel, even the crashes and resounding significance of love and fate on the rails. Although the bulk of Leving's study focuses on the railroad, cars and aeroplanes also figure in the exhilarating discussion. As Leving notes, the car did not inspire Nabokov to the extent that the train did, but anyone familiar with Lolita will know that the automobile represented no minor motif in Nabokov's work. From his automobile ride to school (see Speak, Memory) to descriptions of love-making in automobiles (see Mary) to meandering drives amidst the towering trees of Vermont (see Pnin), the automobile would work its way into Nabokov's celebrated oeuvre. The same goes for the aeroplane; [End Page 752] Nabokov may have been reluctant until late in life to travel by air, but reminiscences of early aviation (see 'Time and Ebb') and transatlantic flights (see Pale Fire) figure in Nabokov's work. Here Leving channels the poetry and non-fiction of Aleksandr Blok, among other notable cultural figures of the early twentieth century, in establishing the prominence of aeronautics for the pre-Revolutionary Russia in which Nabokov came to maturation. Well-illustrated and featuring a number of relatively rare auto-related photos...