Invitation to a Beheading follows the story of Cincinnatus, who has been sentenced to death for the crime of “gnostical turpitude.” Cincinnatus’s beheading is set to take place in an unknown amount of time, and the book revolves around Cincinnatus’s predicament and the people he meets while jailed. Among the people Cincinnatus meets are Rodrig, the prison director, Rodion, the jailer, and Roman, the lawyer for Cincinnatus. None of these people will reveal the date of Cincinnatus’s beheading, which troubles him greatly. Cincinnatus also awaits a visit from his wife Marthe, who is unfaithful. Despite this, Cincinnatus is eager to meet with her. Monsieur Pierre additionally joins Cincinnatus as a seemingly benign fellow inmate, and Monsieur Pierre attempts to befriend Cincinnatus. Cincinnatus at first dismisses Pierre, but Pierre continues to try to become acquainted with Cincinnatus. The novel is rife with symbolism and is often more focused on Cincinnatus’s internal conflicts, making the plot move slowly at times. Cincinnatus’s fixation on the unknown time of his own death makes up a large part of the book, with some passages being dedicated to Cincinnatus’s writings while in prison, further contributing to the slow pacing of the book. The novel does not feel sluggish or self-indulgent, however, as Cincinnatus’s internal dialogue is a major driving force of the book.
Invitation to a Beheading did a remarkably good job at weaving together symbolism and storytelling to create a novel that on its surface is coherent but has immense depth and various interpretations. The book’s political and theological connotations are deftly interwoven with fabulously detailed imagery and language. Additionally, the book fantastically mixes the real with the surreal, with surreal sequences being interspersed among the story, adding to the cryptic figurative elements of the book. The diction in the book is quite masterful despite the fact that the book was translated from Nabokov’s native Russian into English, although this may be in part because the book was translated into English by Nabokov’s son under Nabokov’s supervision. I would recommend the book to people looking for a philosophical novel who are willing to dig deep into the finer details of the story to gain insight into the message that Nabokov is conveying through Cincinnatus’s predicament. The book can be difficult to follow at times because of the surreal elements and Nabokov’s diction can be difficult to understand because of his tendency to us words that are not commonly used, although this may be more a product of the translation than Nabokov’s writing in his native language.
Reviewed by Ray M., Grade 11
