Bibliographic title
An Eden of Sensations: The Five Senses in Speak, Memory
Publisher, city
Collection editor
Periodical or collection
The Five Senses in Nabokov's Works
Page(s)
89-105
Publication year
Abstract
Like Proust, Nabokov had a special gift for describing the most tenuous sensations (smells, sounds, tactile feelings, lights, and shadows). For both of them, sensorial memories are treasures, which allow to recreate the magic world of childhood and adolescence. This paper aims to explore the five senses in Speak, Memory, and particularly the way the sensations echo each other in the cases of synesthesia, cosmic synchronization or involuntary memory, and to underline the joy which comes from expressing them in writing. Reading Nabokov’s autobiography is a very good exercise to develop one’s own sensitivity, to master a range of sensations and nuances for each one of the five senses.
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