This is the first time a book has been written in such a way. In. Nabokov (1899 - 1977), objectively representing the features of the aesthetic reception of the writer's work throughout his life: first in literary circles of the Russian abroad, then in the Western literary world It was these reviews (both positive and poisonous - negative) that accompanied the first publications of Nabokov's works by his contemporaries, critics and writers. Among them are such bright literary figures as G. Adamovich, Y. Eichenwald, P. Bicilly, W. Weidle, M. Osorgin, G. Struve, B. Khodasevich, P. Ackroyd, J. Updike, E. Burgess, C. Lem, J. K. Oates, A. Rob - Grieux, J. - P. Sartre, E. Wilson et al . The uniqueness of the collected factual material (often inaccessible even to specialists) turns a collection of articles and reviews (as well as essays). parodies, fragments of letters) in the most necessary manual for a deeper understanding of the Nabokov phenomenon , in a kind of a textbook , representing the history of world criticism for half a century, Showing Literary Characters , aesthetic preferences and tastes of the whole era .