The protagonist of this novel is pampered by the jailer Rodion and is tormented by fellow inmate M'sieur Pierre, who ends up becoming his executioner.
The second paragraph of this novel declares: "So we are nearing the end," comparing the remainder of the book to a heap of rotten cherries. Just before this novel's title event, two characters are treated to a banquet put on by society men like a deaf judge and a lion-tamer, culminating in a massive light show projecting a monogram made up of "P" and "C," their first initials. A ravenous, yet artificial spider and a chewed up pencil that periodically gets sharpened for him entertain this novel's protagonist, a teacher of children with disabilities who rears a (*) handicapped son and obese daughter born from the affairs of his wife Marthe. The protagonist of this novel is pampered by the jailer Rodion and is tormented by fellow inmate M'sieur Pierre, who ends up becoming his executioner. For 10 points, name this novel about the final days of the prisoner Cincinnatus C., a Russian-language novel by Vladimir Nabokov.
The second paragraph of this novel declares: "So we are nearing the end," comparing the remainder of the book to a heap of rotten cherries.
Invitation to a Beheading [or Invitation to an Execution; or Priglashenie na kazn']