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A review by ellis_kelsey
King, Queen, Knave by Vladimir Nabokov, Dmitri Nabokov
4.0
I'm biased toward Nabokov as he's one of the authors that taught me to love reading in the first place, so take this review with a grain of salt.
I thought King, Queen, Knave was an absolute delight. I'm not giving it 5 stars only because I don't think it holds a flame to the likes of Lolita or Despair. But, in my opinion, Nabokov can do no wrong. He writes some of the most hatable characters I've ever read, including Martha (the titular Queen). She's awful! Don't get me started on spineless Franz either... God, I love him. The best part for me was the fact that the only character worthy of any admiration is Dreyer. Typically the butt of the love triangle in these stories is portrayed as a fool, but Nabokov turns the trope on its head and gives us two cheating idiots who ultimately (it could be argued, anyway) get what they deserve.
Love it.
I thought King, Queen, Knave was an absolute delight. I'm not giving it 5 stars only because I don't think it holds a flame to the likes of Lolita or Despair. But, in my opinion, Nabokov can do no wrong. He writes some of the most hatable characters I've ever read, including Martha (the titular Queen). She's awful! Don't get me started on spineless Franz either... God, I love him. The best part for me was the fact that the only character worthy of any admiration is Dreyer. Typically the butt of the love triangle in these stories is portrayed as a fool, but Nabokov turns the trope on its head and gives us two cheating idiots who ultimately (it could be argued, anyway) get what they deserve.
Love it.