Academic Studies Press The Translator's Doubts: Vladimir Nabokov and the Ambiguity of Translation (Cultural Revolutions: Russia in the Twentieth Century)

“The Translator’s Doubts” singles out translation as a way of talking about literary history and theory, philosophy, and interpretation, with the work of Vladimir Nabokov as its “case study.” It is hard to separate Nabokov from the act of translation, in all senses of the word—ranging from “moving across” geographical borders and cultural and linguistic boundaries to the transferring of the split between “here” and “there” and “then” and “now.” Investigating translation as a transformational rather than mimetic experience allows us to understand the strikingly original end-result: in what emerges, both the “target language” and the “native” language undergo something new that dispenses with the quest for and the “anxiety” of influences. In this sense Nabokov constitutes a perfect object for comparativist study since his oeuvre offers us the unique opportunity to look at his major texts twice: as originals and as translations. Review " The Translator’s Doubts is a striking departure from the traditional studies of Nabokov’s work as a translator. Not only does it mark a significant shift in critical perspective, but it also uses Nabokov as a means to a greater end ― a meditation on “literary history and theory, philosophy and interpretation” (11) ― with value far beyond the world of Nabokov criticism. . . .Each chapter, even taken separately, adds hugely to the corpus of Nabokov criticism, from philology and archival scholarship to new theoretical perspectives. [Trubikhina’s] sophisticated and insightful work will surely become one of the touchstone texts on Nabokov and translation for years to come." -- Bryan Karetnyk, University College London, Nabokov Online Journal, Vol. X–XI (2016/2017) “Nabokov was repelled and fascinated by what he called “the parrot’s screech” and Trubikhina does his ambivalence justice in this highly informed analysis of the metaphysical dilemma played out over three crucial Nabokovian translations: the Russianizing of Alice in Wonderland, the Englishing (or refusal to English) of Eugene Onegin and the “cinemizing” of Lolita. Her dexterous fusing of translation studies and film studies―via theories of analogy and adaptation―builds fruitfully on Nabokov’s ever-evolving perspective to offer new vistas to both fields." -- Esther Allen, Associate Professor, Baruch College, City University of New York “An insightful and sophisticated examination of an important part of Nabokov’s legacy that sheds light on his entire oeuvre, written with elegance and wit.” -- Vladimir Alexandrov, B.E. Besinger Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Yale University About the Author Julia Trubikhina (PhD New York University) is a professor of Russian and Slavic studies at Hunter College in New York, USA. She has published a number of articles on Russian immigrants in the diaspora.