纳博科夫同志(ThegayNabokov).doc

纳博科夫同志 (The gay Nabokov) Which one was gay, Vladimir or his younger brother Sergei? According to the author Lev Grossman, the distinguished novelist could never face the secret that his brother was gay. In 1941, the Gestapo arrested Sergei on charges of homosexuality, and he died later in the concentration camp. ? The Gay Nabokov By Lev Grossman In 1918, a year after the Russian Revolution, Vladimir Nabokov and his four siblings posed for a photograph as a present for their mother. The children were in Yalta, in exile from their native St. Petersburg. In the photo, the air of the fabulous wealth and privilege they grew up in still clings to them. The girls are wearing matching sailor suits. Little Elena, Vladimirs younger sister, holds a patient pet dachshund in her lap. In the background looms a serious and rather beautiful young man dressed entirely in black. His intense gaze meets the cameras through an exquisite pince-nez. He is not Vladimir, who is wearing a bow tie and looking hilariously full of himself. He is Sergei Nabokov, born 11 months after his famous brother and with a very different fate ahead of him. Vladimir Nabokov, of course, would go on to become one of the most important writers of the 20th century, earning not only critical acclaim but international fame and financial success as well. Sergei would never be famous -- in fact, his existence has been all but covered up by his family -- but in its own way his life would be just as remarkable. Shy, awkward and foppish, the opposite of his gregarious brother, Sergei had a secret: He was gay. Sergeis homosexuality would cast a long shadow over his strange and heroic life, and it would also, ultimately, be the cause of his horrifying and untimely death. It cast a shadow over Vladimirs life as well: He loved his brother, but whatever else he may have been -- a brilliant writer, a loving father -- Vladimir was a confirmed homophobe, and his gay brother was a constant source of shame, confus