The Eye , written in 1930, is Vladimir Nabokov's fourth novel. It was translated into English by the author's son Dmitri Nabokov in 1965. At just over 100 pages, The Eye is Nabokov's shortest novel. As in many of Nabokov's early works, the characters are largely Russian émigrés relocated to Europe, specifically Berlin. In this case the novel is set in two houses where a young Russian tutor, Smurov, is renting room and board. The action of the novel largely begins after the attempted slaying of the narrator/protagonist, but the jealous husband of his lover. After his supposed death,... his "eye" observes a group of Russian émigrés as he tries to ascertain their opinions of the character Smurov, around whom much uncertainty and suspicion exists. The novel deals largely with indeterminate locus of identity and the social construction of identity in the reactions and opinions of others. Smurov exists as a fraud, nobleman, scoundrel, "sexual adventurer", thief and spy in the eyes of the various characters.
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