A. Sklyarenko: " The
two or three small diamonds that I kept in a chamois pouch melted away faster
than hailstones." (1.2)
Jansy Mello: Vadim's casual
record of riches (he kept "two or three" diamonds in a pouch) made me
instantly remember another equally vague counting procedure, also
present in LATH, right at the first paragraph: " I met the first of my three or four successive wives
in somewhat odd circumstances, the development of which resembled a
clumsy conspiracy..." Further on he will
indicate his "two or three compositions," but
then his imprecision wouldn't be so striking ( "I was, in those days, naively opposed
to any kind of translation, partly because my
attempts to turn two or three of my first compositions into my
own English had resulted in a feeling of morbid revolt - and
in maddening headaches.").
However this
parallel might serve to indicate that, for him, diamonds, wives
and translations of early works were transient
experiences.