Summary
Fifty-three year old Russian emigre Timothy Pnin is marked by his inability
to fit in to western society as a professor at Waindell College. The plot
largely functions as an episodic look at Pnin's many blunders that cause him
misfortune. Examples include missing a lecture because he took the wrong train
and failing his drivers test.
To make matters worse, his ex-wife, Liza Wind, soon re-appears in his life
under the pretense of wanting to reconnect with him. However, the truth is that
she plans to leave her current husband for a poet and no longer wants any
responsibility for her child, Victor Wind. Oblivious that the child is not his,
Pnin agrees to support him. Surprisingly, Victor admires Pnin far more than he
ever did his birth parents, and the two share many characteristics.
In the end, to his surprise, Pnin is fired and replaced by the narrator when
Dr. Hagen, the only Waindell faculty member that admired him, leaves his
position. The novel ends with Pnin driving away. However, the tone is less
tragic than it is optimistic, symbolizing the vulnerable and endearing nature
of Pnin.
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