title: The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov
author:  Vladimir Nabokov 
description: These stories, written between the early 1920s to the mid-1950s, reveal the fascinating progress of Nabokov's early development as they remind us that we are in the presence of a magnificent original, a genuine master. Edited by his son and translator, Dmitri Nabokov, this volume is a literary event.
zlib_text:   
    
  _The defence: a novel_  
  ---  
  Vladimir Nabokov; translated by Michael Scammell in collaboration the author  
  London : Weidenfeld and Nicolson, c1964, 1969 printing. (1964)  
  Rating: | ★★★☆☆  
    
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  **Product Description**
  
  Nabokov's third novel, _The Defense_ , is a chilling story of obsession and
  madness. As a young boy, Luzhin was unattractive, distracted, withdrawn,
  sullen--an enigma to his parents and an object of ridicule to his classmates.
  He takes up chess as a refuge from the anxiety of his everyday life. His
  talent is prodigious and he rises to the rank of grandmaster--but at a cost:
  in Luzhin' s obsessive mind, the game of chess gradually supplants the world
  of reality. His own world falls apart during a crucial championship match,
  when the intricate defense he has devised withers under his opponent's
  unexpected and unpredictabke lines of assault.
  
  **Language Notes**
  
  Text: English (translation)  
  Original Language: Russian
  
  > l **Vladimir Nabokov**  
  >  **T