Mary (Nabokov novel)

 Mary is the story of Lev Glebovich Ganin, a Russian emigre and ex- White Guard Officer displaced by the Russian Revolution. Ganin is now living in a boardinghouse in Berlin and is accompanied by a young Russian girl, Klara, an older Russian poet, Podtyagin his landlady Lydia Nikolaevna Dorn and his neighbour, Aleksey Ivanovich Alfyorov, whom he meets in a dark, broken-down elevator at the beginning of the story. Ganin learns from Alfyorov that Mary the first woman he fell in love with has become his wife. He also snaps a photo. When Ganin is aware of this, he breaks off the relationship with his partner, Lyudmila, and begins to lose himself in his memories of his time in Russia with Mary, which Ganin declares were "perhaps the most enjoyable days of his life". Ganin is fascinated by Mary's vision and cannot let her go to Alfyorov. He then tries to reconnect with Mary whom he believes affectionately Ganin. Ganin finally declares that he'll leave Berlin the night prior to when Mary arrives. Residents of his neighborhood host a party for Ganin. Ganin continues to get drunk Alfyorov by drinking alcohol. Just before Alfyorov is able to fall into a drunken sleep, he requests Ganin to set his alarm clock for half-past seven because Alfyorov plans to meet Mary at the train station next morning. Ganin is enthralled by Mary, sets the alarm to eleven and plans on meeting Mary at the train station. However, as he leaves the house, he has an instant of clarity. "The world of memories in which Ganin had dwelt became the reality of it as The distant past... Other than that image , there was no evidence that Mary existed, and could not exist." Instead of meeting Mary Ganin chooses to board a train to France.A other, unimportant storyline concerns an old Russian poet, Anton Sergeyevich Podtyagin, who is believed to be an earlier version of Ganin. His poetry writing is often ridiculed. Podtyagin wants to leave Berlin and go to Paris but is unable do so due to a number of undesirable events (e.g. loses passport).