MASEN'KA by Vladimir Nabokov

 Masen'ka

by Vladimir Nabokov published by Adelphi (18 euros) is simply a sublime little jewel of literature! 

This one was his first book, written in 1925, he was 26 years old and and published in Berlin in 1926. 

A fresco of the German society of Berlin sets in 1923, seen, read and looked through the eyes of a Russian emigrated with other Russians "situated" in this little not truly elegant but cheap pension where they lived together.

This one is an intimate story after all of the past, present and future of the protagonist, Ganin, but also of that distant dreaming land that to these protagonists, born in Russia is their native land. 

It is common, I read it in many other books by Makine, Troyat, Dosto, for naming some of them, the vision of Russia passing through imagination and dreams: a sort of escapism for keeping real their cities, their environment, their dreamland. Sometimes these dreams are distorted, imagination can be more powerful than anything else; other ones are vivids. It's the strongest part of the melancholy felt by them. I admit that this thematic is absolutely fascinating and interesting. 

Ganin is young, beauty and he misses his Russia, left more than 5 years before. The Russian pension owned by a nice old lady, has several iconic characters like the old poet Potdjaging who would want to reach Paris. He suffers of  frequent heart attacks: another old man is Alferov, then there are two beautiful dancers, and Ganin sometimes can be seen in company of Ludmilla his current girlfriend: Klara is another girl living there, less beauty than Ludmilla, robust and in love for Ganin, friend with Ludmilla.

The first love of Ganin has been Masen'ka a girl who lived in  Ukraine. 

Oh, what a passionate first love that one! plenty of desire, expectations. The two lived during their first summer together with that joy and gaiety typical of people immensely in love although this feeling became strained and more tiring the following seasons because of logistic reasons. 

Our Ganin was constricted to reach the girlfriend in fact at 50 km of distance, under any possible meteorological conditions using his bycicle.

Ganin felt cold once arrived: and also the vision of Masen'ka wasn't helpful after all. No he didn't want to return anymore in that park, during the night, with a lot of obscure eyes, that who knows? were looking at them. He wanted to run away from that girl forever. Forever. Yes, because the clandestinity of this story started to be heavy for him.

Oh, he hadn't never thought anymore at the destiny spent, lived by Masen'ka, once they broke-up. No, no. Sure, it remained his first and apparently strong first love. 

Currently he is in a kind of relationship with Ludmilla as said before, although starts to be tired of her as well, leaving her without too many compliments.

Then, one day, Alferov, excited, invites Ganin in his room  telling him of the arrival of his wife. His devoted wife, the reason of his existence, tending him a picture of his beauty.

Ganin loses a heart beat: oh my...But that one is the Masen'ka he had loved immensely. Oh my... Now Married with this old, fat, man.

Ganin lives the rest of these four days waiting for the arrival of Masenka that saturday. 

In this sense the book is not different from The Desert of the Tartars by Dino Buzzati or Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett; the main thematic of these books is the waiting, although here there is not time lost waiting for who knows who or for an abstraction: plus, decisions are taken. If in that first two books, protagonists are trapped in their own destinies and desires, Drogo waits for his entire existence the arrival of Tartars and the protagonists of the Godot's play for that phantomatic character, remaining paralyzed in their own human conditions, in this case, thank Lord the protagonist is free and can does what he wants.

In Ganin's case the waiting is searched, scrutinized, analyzed thanks to the collection of old memories that like a flood absorbes him completely: oh, his old feelings for her are back prepotently.

He re-discovers their intensity,  he visualizes their love story, he wants to escape away again with her at her arrival. 

Then, that saturday goes at the train station waiting for her...

Oh, the wonderful Masen'ka, the object of his past desire.

Correct. 

Past.

Old feelings... 

 

Why desidering again someone like her?

The end is spectacular! You'll love it, because surprising and although shocking I loved it, because Ganin sets himself free from a past wrong love, ready to start new and exciting adventures somewhere else.

Absolutely wonderful!

Anna Maria Polidori