Unreal Life of Sergey Nabokov, The: A Novel - Softcover

Russell, Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1573447196 ISBN 13: 9781573447195

Publisher: Cleis Press, 2011

Synopsis

In his novel based on the extraordinary life of the gay brother of Vladimir Nabokov, Paul Russell re-creates the rich and changing world in which Sergey, his family and friends lived; from wealth and position in pre-revolutionary Russia, to the halls of Cambridge University, and the Parisian salon of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. But it is the honesty and vulnerability of Sergey, our young gay narrator, that hook the reader: his stuttering childhood in the shadow of his brilliant brother, his opium-fueled evenings with his sometime lover Cocteau, his troubled love life on the margins of the Ballets Russes and its legendary cast, and his isolation in war torn Berlin where he will ultimately be arrested, sent to a camp and die in 1945.

A meticulously researched novel, in which you will meet an extraordinary cast of characters including Picasso, Diaghilev, Stravinsky, Magnus Hirshfeld ('Tante Magnesia'), Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Cocteau, and of course the master himself, Vladimir Nabokov, this is ultimately the story of a beautiful and vulnerable homosexual boy growing into an enlightened and courageous man.

About this title

Review:

'Sergey's struggles with his sexuality, as well as his adventures and misadventures in the salons and clubs of pre-war Europe, are drawn with humanity. With compelling characters and steady prose, the reader will breeze through this pleasurable, heart-breaking account of the other Nabokov.' Publishers Weekly --Publishers Weekly

'A story that will make you laugh and smile then breaks your heart, this is a rich tapestry of the human condition. Highly recommended.' Library Journal --Library Journal

'Russell s prose, engagingly evocative of the period in which the story is set, is studded with gems of dark wit that add quirky grace to a masterful novel.' South Florida Gay News --South Florida Gay News

About the Author:

Paul Russell is the accomplished author of various works of both fiction and non-fiction, including several award-winning novels, anthologies, poems, short stories, essays, and book reviews. He attended Oberlin College and later studied at Cornell University, where he earned an M.F.A. in Creative Writing and a Ph.D. in English. Russell has taught English at Vassar College and the University of Exeter, and is a Professor of English at Vassar College. He lives in upstate New York.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cleis Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1573447196
• ISBN 13: 9781573447195
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 383