Описание книги
More info An exciting literary thriller. The novel was filmed in 1978 by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, the script for the film was written by Tom Stoppard. For his sixth Russian-language novel, Despair, Vladimir Nabokov chooses a criminal plot. German middle-class Russian merchant lives in Berlin and sells chocolate. His affairs are going very badly. Once, while in Prague, he meets a homeless Felix, who looks like a double of the main character. Herman decides to dress Felix in his own clothes, kill him and hide by his name in another country. In the meantime, Felix’s wife Lida will receive insurance for the alleged death of her husband and will come to him. This inception of an action-packed detective thriller, on closer examination, turns out to be a subtle and sophisticated parody of both Dostoevsky with his duality and Freud with his psychoanalysis. Nabokov, cleverly juggling cultural codes and literary reminiscences, continues to play with readers and critics. And it does it flawlessly. The novel is printed according to the first book edition of 1936, taking into account the text of the journal publication of 1934. Annotation With the outbreak of the First World War, Hermann with German roots was interned and since 1920 lived in Berlin, in a cozy apartment with his lovely and loving wife Lida, helpful maid Elsa, a balcony on the sunny side and central heating. The only frustration is that the hero’s chocolate business does not bring the expected income. Things have been going very badly lately. Once, while on a business visit to Prague, Herman meets a homeless vagabond Felix, like two drops of water similar to him. An ideal plan matures in Herman’s head: to kill Felix and, dressing him in his own clothes, thus stage suicide. Lida will receive insurance and will come with this money to a hero hiding in another country. But from the very first steps, everything does not go according to plan. …
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