Rating: 
Summary: "But hell shall never parole Hermann"
Review: First, let me preface this by saying, please read nabokav's introduction to the novel, because he adresses what kept me from enjoying his books right away. Don't overemphasize this novel, there are no hidden truths. How annoying is it to hear people go on and on about works like pale fire, not talking about how well written it is, but instead wondering,*SPOILER* did shade create the whole story? Was kinbote insane, etc. *END SPOILER*
Enjoy the novel for it's stunning writing first, and with Despair, it truly is a fun read. He skips from topic to topic quickley, at one point ready to insert the history of mirrors, and another spending half his chapter wondering about how to begin his new chapter. The plot itself is fantastic, and right when you think you've peaced the ending together, everything shifts and you begin to question again wheter you can trust the characters placed before you or not.
A fantastic novel, I only wish I knew Russian so I could read it in the original text, but I geuss it's better to have Nabokov himself help translate his work then to leave to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Doppelganger Mystery
Review: --
So, so wonderful. If you haven't read the book description, I recommend you don't. The one-sentence description reveals something not revealed in the book until nearly its end. If you have read the description, don't worry - it doesn't detract anything. I recommend this book, particularly as a plot-driven, less ethereal read for those who prefer that side of Nabokov (not to say his stamp is missing). Also interesting is that it was written in the 1930's and much revised by Nabokov in the 1960's, in English, after a literal Russian-to-English translation by his son. So the historic value that I find so interesting in his early work is there, yet his skill-level is far higher than in the books of his I've read from the 20's and 30's. To me, this plot, a doppelganger/crime in Nabokov's hands, is an original -- the way it unfolds, its structure; its breadth of characters, concepts and details. Literature is blessed by Nabokov. And Despair, brilliant, is an "easy" read, a suspenseful, highly enjoyable book.
Spoilers, if you haven't read other reviews: I love an unreliable narrator, and thought the pacing with which Hermann's credence becomes questionable was seamless. But what I want to say most is something Nabokov denies in his Foreward. However, having read some of the other Forewards from this reissue series, he had a clear disrespect for those who "need a Foreward to explain the book" [Quote from the Foreward of "The Defense"], so part of me thinks he's messing with us in his intros. In any event (intentional on VN's part or not), this is something I loved: the political implication of the main way Hermann's credibility is sketchy -- his likeness to another person. Hermann himself mentions the word Marxism very near the end, and when he ultimately concedes that he and Felix may look different, says, All people are really alike anyway. I thought about the book's entirety, the time in history it was written, and the ideology / social construct itself. As an American, at this time in history, I found this particularly powerful. Driving this politic home in "Despair" is their precise opposite lots: Hermann wealthy; Felix poor, a beggar, someone who goes to Hermann for money. The rich and the poor men, in Despair, are doubles, "alike in every way," Hermann writes.
And now, I'll be quiet. Other people have written wonderful reviews that mention different great details of "Despair." Stellar work. Amazing characters, so well-drawn, as always.
Rating: 
Summary: Pleasing, stylish novel.
Review: Although the story is an old one, having been has been told in several forms with various twists, many times before and since. However Nabokov's powers of observation, and his skillful drawing of characters are as compelling as ever. The novel's clever construction, with the narrator constantly addressing and challenging the reader's assumptions as to the way the story will develop, and how the reader may be interpreting the story was particularly pleasing. An enjoyable, original version of a well-established story line.
Rating: 
Summary: An early masterpiece
Review: In my opinion Despair is one of Nabokov's best novels. Here we can see an early draft of what would eventually become Nabokov's signatures: clever puns, comically cruel descriptions of characters as seen through the narrator's eyes, a story hovering beneath the "official" story, and vivid writing. "I took a handful of snow, squeezed out a curling worm of soap into it, beat it with the brush and applied the icy lather to his whiskers and mustache." The novel proper concerns Hermann Hermann, a "second-rate businessman with ideas" who one day stumbles across a hobo who Hermann believes resembles him as closely as "two drops of blood." The chance meeting in the mountains of Prague (circa the 1920s, when the novel was written) leads Hermann Hermann (an echo of Humbert Humbert?) to devise a cunning plan for committing what he believes would be the perfect crime, which he likens to a work of art. During the course of the novel, we are introduced to a bevy of colorful, vividly drawn characters: Hermann's wife, Lydia; her cousin, Ardalion; and Dr. Orlovious. The entire novel, so to speak, is Hermann's justification for an evil that he has done because he has a "lookalike," an evil that Hermann believes is an artistic masterpiece when viewed in its totality. But the wonder of Despair is not so much in the story line and plot but rather is in Hermann's remarkable asides and stray thoughts, which, when sewn together form a wondrous tapestry that reveal a story within the story, a story that Hermann Hermann can't or won't face. I wonder how many readers of Despair have recognized the true relationship between Lydia and Ardalion, a relationship that seems to zip right by the eyes of "observant" Hermann. To read Nabokov, it helps to pay attention to each syllable; and rereading is required.
Rating:
Summary: Want to see your obituary note?
Review: Nabokov poses a question about who really is each of us. A very absurd and beautiful story about the relativity of perception: maybe the one that Hermann thought that was very similar to him, was completely different. Have you ever seen a man that somebody tells you that is very similar to another person, and then you see that it's completely different, or vice versa? Haven't you ever thought about killing your own personality in order to be someone else in another place? Haven't you ever truly loved somebody because of its nice characteristics, but truly hating its defects? Haven't you ever used somebody? A very despairing novel, with Nabokov's mastery to make you feel as the protagonist, mocking at common human interrogations and desires, but in the very human contradictory way.
Rating:
Summary: lugubrious, turbid, yet occasionally funny
Review: Perhaps one of the marks of genius is that a writer produces works that are totally different from eachother. When I like a book by the Nab, I absolutely love it as masterpiece of quirkiness and bizarre obsessions, if always devoid of much normal human emotion. This book is truly different from anything else I know if his: the character is cold and calculating, quite uninteresting and lacking in charm and learning. Bored with his life and hating everyone in it, he is planing the "perfect crime" to liberate himself. While there are games within games - just how perfect is the crime? - this horrible guy simply appeared horrible and boring to me, and I never really enjoyed his stream of thoughts and plans. It is utter nihilism and, unlike socially concerned writers, there is no point to any of it. Recommended only for the most devoted of Nabokov fans.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining metafiction
Review: Russian-born Hermann Karlovich, 36, is a married and disappointed purveyor of chocolates in pre-war Berlin. When he meets a young vagrant he considers to be his physical double, he undertakes to exploit their likeness to commit the perfect crime. The less said about what happens next the better, as revealing any more might undermine your pleasure. And there is a lot to enjoy here. The plot is playful - it's contrived, familiar and somewhat childish, but as it unravels we realize those qualities are precisely part of Nabokov's point in choosing it. Hermann is a monstrous narcissist convinced of his own criminal (and literary) genius and unable to see his plot's fatal flaw. With Hermann as the narrator, recounting his criminal "triumph", the novel progresses with a highly self-conscious awareness of itself as a potential High Art text. Hermann is almost constantly reflecting on literature and the typical constructions by which such a mystery story, and novels in general, routinely unfold. This might be irritating if it weren't for the subtle intention behind it - Hermann's error is to assume that his life can and will be experienced as work of art (by himself and by others); that the "perfect crime" is possible and that he can commit it, just like in the world of fiction. In creating such a wonderfully unreliable and deluded narrator, Nabokov explores and critiques the literary conventions by which so many novels proceed, and contrasts them with a character (and climax) which are refreshingly, horrifyingly human.
Rating:
Summary: "Trumpets, please!"
Review: The focus of a book review should supposedly be on the novel itself and not on the author, but I can't resist; Nabokov is a master. It's as if language were his own personal playground. The way he toys with words is amazing, and adds much to his books. I simply can't think of a writer with more linguistic talent. But on to the novel itself: Don't read Despair (or any of his other novels, for that matter) if you're looking for a simple, pleasant read. This book is dark, comedic, and often grotesque (but that's hardly a bad thing). It can be confusing at times, because the narrator is sly; the reader must be alert and ready to spot his outright lies, as well as his half-truths and truth-twistings. This makes for a very entertaining, if somewhat skewed, point of view. The plot itself isn't anything breathtaking or boldly original; however, Nabokov's style makes it seem that way. This is an intriguing, sharp-witted book by one of the most interesting authors to ever put pen to page. I dare say it's one of his best.
Rating:
Summary: "Trumpets, please!"
Review: The focus of a book review should supposedly be on the novel itself and not on the author, but I can't resist; Nabokov is a master. It's as if language were his own personal playground. The way he toys with words is amazing, and adds much to his books. I simply can't think of a writer with more linguistic talent. But on to the novel itself: Don't read Despair (or any of his other novels, for that matter) if you're looking for a simple, pleasant read. This book is dark, comedic, and often grotesque (but that's hardly a bad thing). It can be confusing at times, because the narrator is sly; the reader must be alert and ready to spot his outright lies, as well as his half-truths and truth-twistings. This makes for a very entertaining, if somewhat skewed, point of view. The plot itself isn't anything breathtaking or boldly original; however, Nabokov's style makes it seem that way. This is an intriguing, sharp-witted book by one of the most interesting authors to ever put pen to page. I dare say it's one of his best.
Rating:
Summary: Worth Reading
Review: The surface premise of "Despair" is simple; a rather disagreeable protagonist meets a vagabond who strongly resembles him (or perhaps does not resemble him at all). This inspires him to an elaborate, if rather obvious, plan involving switched identities, murder, insurance, and so on. The blood of the story is the interplay and contrast between his own internal picture of what is going on, and the picture that we, the reader, see of the perhaps realer reality that he is misperceiving. This isn't the perfect book; the middle is a bit too long, and a tad too much plot has snuck in. Still, if you like Nabokov; you should definitely read this novel.
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