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Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt , 2008, hardcover, 436 pages, condition: new.
Vladimir Nabokov was hailed by Salman Rushdie as the most important writer ever to cross the boundary between one language and another. A Russian emigre who began writing in English after his forties, Nabokov was a trilingual author, equally competent in Russian, English, and French. A gifted and tireless translator, he bridged the gap between languages nimbly and joyously. Here, collected for the first time in one volume as Nabokov always wished, are many of his English translations of Russian verse, presented next to the Russian originals. Here, also, are some of his notes on the dangers and thrills of translation. With an introduction by Brian Boyd, author of the prize-winning biography of Nabokov, Verses and Versions is a momentous and authoritative contribution to Nabokov's published works.
I have to say that I liked Nabokov's introductions and essays much more than his translations. There was far too much poetry that I just didn't care about, try as I might. But it felt good to read and to hold. The dust jacket has a pleasant texture. And its pages smell as smart as I'd like to feel, at least while I had my hands on it. Problem is, when I set it down (and finally filed it on my bookshelf), I felt stupid again. Stupider, even, if that's a word and/or possibility.
