The Real Life of Sebastian Knight Lesson Plan

Much like the plot of a Sebastian Knight novel, V.'s narrative now bears the hallmarks of genre fiction, immersing us in a quest to uncover the enigmatic femme fatale. However, V. is far from a Sam Spade-like figure; his initial plan, a straightforward inquiry with the hotel manager, proves to be laughably ill-conceived. It's only through the fortuitous intervention of a bona fide private investigator that he obtains the necessary information.

In these events, it appears that Nabokov, rather than V., orchestrates the narrative, playfully...