Coulda heard a Pnin drop

At the Guardian, an "edited extract from David Lodge's introduction to Pnin, published by Everyman's Library":

Novel of character, roman à clef, campus novel, epiphanic short story, postmodernist metafiction - Pnin contains elements of all these fictional subgenres, but ultimately it is sui generis, uniquely and quintessentially Nabokovian, having a family resemblance to his other works without being exactly like any of them. For those who know their Nabokov well it is full of allusions to and foreshadowings of those other works (especially Pale Fire, where Pnin reappears, happily ensconced in a tenured professorship at Wordsmith College), authorial in-jokes and hobby horses, and coded meanings concealed in proper names.

Fantastic book--highly recommended. In an interview collected in Strong Opinions, Nabokov teaches one how to pronounce Pnin correctly. Sort of:

The "p" is sounded, that's all. But since the "p" is mute in English words starting with "pn", one is prone to insert a supporting "uh" sound--"Puh-nin"--which is wrong. To get the "pn" right, try the combination "Up North", or still better "Up, Nina!", leaving out the initial "u". Pnorth, Pnina, Pnin. Can you do that?...That's fine.