Yuri Leving's Keys to "The Gift" A Guide to Vladimir Nabokov's Novel is
a new systematization of the main available data on Nabokov's most
complex Russian novel, The Gift (1934-1939). From notes in Nabokov's
private correspondence to scholarly articles accumulated during the
seventy years since the novel's first appearance in print, the work
draws from a broad spectrum of existing material in a succinct and
coherent way, as well as providing innovative analyses. The first part
of the monograph, "The Novel," outlines the basic properties of The Gift
( plot, characters, style, and motifs) and reconstructs its internal
chronology. The second part, "The Text," describes the creation of the
novel and the history of its publication, public and critical reaction,
challenges of the English translation, and post-Soviet reception. Along
with annotations to all five chapters of The Gift, the commentary
provides insight into problems of paleography, featuring unique
textological analysis of the novel based on the author's study of the
archival copy of the manuscript.