论《塞巴斯蒂安·奈特的真实生活》的后现代叙事艺术

Riddles or Griffin On the Post-modernistic Features of The Real Life of Sebastian Knight

《塞巴斯蒂安·奈奈特的真实生活》的主线是一场如真似幻的追寻。小说叙事者V自称是已逝作家塞巴斯蒂安同父异母的弟弟,他为了给哥哥写一部精准可靠的传记,费尽心思探访其剑桥同窗、工作助手以及曾经的女友。可惜,他得到的材料大多是经旁人转述的二手材料或者是经过商业加工的传记,甚至连叙事者V本身的身份也愈来愈模糊不清、令人怀疑。小说以"真实"为题,整部小说中却找不到"真实"的证据:这种游离的、无中心的、多重意义的文本恰恰是后现代主义的特点。

As Nabokov＇s first novel written in English,The Real Life of Sebastian Knight embodies post-modernist features in its narrative style.The narrator V,claiming himself the brother of the deceased writer Sebastian Knight,is editing a biography of Sebastian.However,all his knowledge of Sebastian is from other people＇s talking rather than first-hand materials.Consequently,not only the narrations,but also the identity of V,become deconstructed.