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What authorial challenges does Nabokov face at the outset of the novel, and how does he address them through his choice of narrator and the introduction of a central tension in the novel?
The Real Life of Sebastian Knight commences with a formidable challenge for Nabokov: His task is not only to establish the suspension of disbelief inherent in all fiction but also to captivate the reader's interest in a fictional character, Sebastian Knight, and the fabrication of his biography. Furthermore, Nabokov selects the digressive and defensive V. as our narrator, a choice that might not be the most reader-friendly.
However, with an awareness of these challenges and an...
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