Motives in «Spring in Fialta» by Vladimir Nabokov as a basis for reader's reception

The article reviews the uniqueness of the artistic world of Vladimir Nabokov. A masterly prose style, the complexity of relationship between the author and the narrator, and an appeal to understanding addressee foster a new reader who is able to see the connection between the literary tradition of Russian writers of the 19th century and Nabokov’s creative manner. The pieces about the Motherland which were written in exile help the reader to consider the writer’s point of view on the historical and cultural processes taking place in the 20th century in Russia and abroad. Published in 1936, the short story “Spring in Fialta” is reviewed as a system of nostalgic motives that recreate the lost image of the Motherland. One of them - the railroad motive acts as a symbol of the immigrants’ homelessness and the elusiveness of the most precious moments of a past life. Other related motives help the reader to fully comprehend the writer’s artistic world which is filled with literary allusions and reminiscences.