Book Review: Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov

Catering to voracious enthusiasts of the typically dystopian and metaphorical style of modern classical prose, endowed with philosophical undertones, ‘Invitation to a Beheading,’ by Vladimir Nabokov, is an unrivalled masterpiece in the literary world.

The protagonist Cincinnatus is abstractly accused of having committed an inexplicable crime of ‘gnostical turpitude,’ and is condemned to death, because the way he thinks and exists, are at odds with his countrymen. The jailers, Rodrig and Rodion, as well as his mother, and infidel wife, are one-dimensional personalities whose roles Nabokov cleverly inter-changes to emphasise the ineffectual and ingratiating nature of the characters. By doing so, he further implies that positions in the society, against which Cincinnatus rebels, are impermanent and replaceable. Irrationally terrified of death and his response to it, Cincinnatus is hit by the epiphany that presumably there are others who have awoken from the scripted nightmare of the absurd world that they inhabit. This novel is a brilliant amalgamation of the trademark elements of Camus’, ‘The Stranger,’ Orwell’s, ‘1984,’ and Kafka’s, ‘The Trial.’

Cincinnatus records his irrepressible concatenation of thoughts in a diary, all pointing towards the idea that this dreary world is merely an illusion. He wonders if his execution will liberate him from its shackles, allowing him to enter a better one. His inner turmoil is precipitated by vivid, surreal hallucinations. The novel ends with the descent of the scaffold, concretising that Cincinnatus has been freed from his earthly existence. This solidifies the notion that in the spiritual realm of one’s mind, corporeal forms of being are vestigial.

Cincinnatus becomes a living defense of all complex art forms and skewed perceptions. In a world of norm-conformity, masses fear what they cannot subsume and apprehend originality that threatens the pre-existing status quo. This society accepts a subconscious set of rules, and the outliers are often ignorant about them. The expression of individuality is infuriatingly daring, and those who endeavour to do so, are shunned and oppressed, as in the case of Cincinnatus.

My most allegorically contemplative read so far, ‘Invitation to a Beheading,’ was irrefutably a catalyst for birthing thoughts which are products of a meditative ponderance of the need of the hour. Of all the books that I have read during the pandemic, not one has matched up to this novel, owing to Nabokov’s ingenious ease of weaving words. His infamous ‘Lolita,’ has often overshadowed his other sagacious wonders, of which ‘Invitation to a Beheading,’ tops the list.

Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov

Invitation to a Beheading

Putnam, 1959 (Reprint Vintage 1989)

Ahana Basu Roy,

Intern, Asia in Global Affairs.