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      The Enchanter

      by Vladimir Nabokov
      Published
      Dec 1987
      Main Genre
      General Fiction General Fiction
      Rating
      Pages
      109
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      About This Book

      The precursor to Nabokov's classic novel, Lolita. â€¢  A middle-aged man weds an unattractive widow in order to indulge his obsession with her daughter.  • "A gem to be appreciated by any admirer of the most graceful and provocative literary craftsman." —Chicago Tribune

      The unnamed protagonist of the story is, outwardly, a respectable and comfortable man; inside, he churns at the pubescent femininity of certain girls. Rare girls – one in a thousand – whose coltish grace and subconscious flirtatiousness betray, to his obsessed mind, a very special bud on the moist verge of its bloom.
       
      Sitting on a park bench one day, he is tantalized by the fleeting form of just such a girl roller-skating on a gravel path. His desire to be near this beauty burns in him and drives him to begin a courtship of the child's pitiful mother – a course that can end only in the disintegration of his life.
       
      Over the years, the idea of The Enchanter grew; it changed; it developed "claws and wings." By 1953 it was ready to furnish the basic theme of Lolita.

      "The Enchanter is entertaining independent of its Lolita connection. It is arch, delicious and beautifully written." —Publishers Weekly

      Genres & Themes

      Genres

      General Fiction

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      Paperback

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      Jul 1991 Vintage ISBN13 9780679728863 ISBN10 0679728864
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      Oct 2009 Penguin ISBN13 9780141191188 ISBN10 014119118X
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      Hardcover

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      First Edition Dec 1987 Picador (UK) ISBN13 9780330300704 ISBN10 0330300709
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      Oct 1986 Putnam ISBN13 9780399132117 ISBN10 0399132112
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      eBook

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      Feb 2011 Knopf ISBN13 9780307787309 ISBN10 0307787303
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      Feb 2011 Vintage ISBN10 B004KABEF6
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      Oct 2013 Penguin ISBN13 9780141978338 ISBN10 0141978333
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      Audio

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      Sep 2010 Brilliance Audio ISBN13 9781441872555 ISBN10 1441872558
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      Sep 2010 Brilliance Audio ISBN13 9781441872579 ISBN10 1441872574
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      Sep 2010 Brilliance Audio ISBN13 9781441872548 ISBN10 144187254X
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      Sep 2010 Brilliance Audio ISBN13 9781441872562 ISBN10 1441872566
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      Sep 2010 Brilliance Audio ISBN13 9781441879646 ISBN10 1441879641
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      Sep 2010 Brilliance Audio ISBN13 9781441872586 ISBN10 1441872582
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      Sep 2010 Brilliance Audio ISBN10 B0043PH2JA
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      Dec 2013 Brilliance Audio ISBN13 9781480541702 ISBN10 1480541702
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      Jun 2014 Brilliance Audio ISBN13 9781491504017 ISBN10 1491504013
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      Aug 2015 Brilliance Audio ISBN13 9781501287268 ISBN10 1501287265
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