Despair

The wickedly inventive and richly derisive story of Hermann, a man who undertakes the perfect crime--his own murder. • “A beautiful mystery plot, not to be revealed.” – Newsweek

“Nabokov writes prose the only way it should be written, that is, ecstatically.” – John Updike

“One of Mr. Nabokov’s finest, most challenging and provocative novels.” – The New York Times

Despair’s protagonist, Hermann, is another masterly portrait in the fascinating gallery of living characters Vladmir Nabokov has ...