Annotations by Alexey Sklyarenko

In VN’s novel Zashchita Luzhina (“The Luzhin Defense,” 1930) Luzhin only at the last moment sees exactly what kind of eternity is obligingly and inexorably spread out before him:

In VN’s novel Zashchita Luzhina (“The Luzhin Defense,” 1930) Luzhin, who just made the acquaintance of a young Russian woman at a German spa, tries to unravel in his mind the impression of something very familiar:

The main character in VN’s novel Zashchita Luzhina (“The Luzhin Defense,” 1930), Aleksandr Ivanovich Luzhin, has the same surname as Aleksey Lvovich Luzhin, the hero of VN’s earlier story Sluchaynost’ (“A Matter of Chance,” 1924):

Он служил лакеем в столовой германского экспресса. Звали его так: Алексей Львович Лужин.

In VN’s novel Zashchita Luzhina (“The Luzhin Defense,” 1930) poetry throws Luzhin into a state of severe perplexity and sorrow:

In VN’s novel Zashchita Luzhina (“The Luzhin Defense,” 1930) Luzhin’s wife inspects and arranges the apartment "rented with a long view but at short notice" (as her father jokes):

In VN’s novel Zashchita Luzhina (“The Luzhin Defense,” 1930) the guests at the Christmas party thrown by Luzhin senior include Bersenev and Rosen (Luzhin’s schoolmates):

In VN’s novel Zashchita Luzhina (“The Luzhin Defense,” 1930) Luzhin senior tells his son “let's go and see if there are any krasnye griby (red mushrooms) under the fir trees:”

In VN’s novel Zashchita Luzhina (“The Luzhin Defense,” 1930) among the people who come to the attic (where little Luzhin, who is afraid of school and does not want to return to the city, attempts to hide himself) is the milkmaid Akulina:

In VN’s novel Zashchita Luzhina (“The Luzhin Defense,” 1930) it is a black-bearded peasant from the water mill, future inhabitant of Luzhin’s future nightmares, who carries the boy (who is afraid of school and attempts to hide himself in the attic of his parents’ country house) down from the attic to the carriage:

In his apologetic note to Lucette (in VN’s novel Ada, 1969, Van’s and Ada’s half-sister) written after the dinner in 'Ursus' and debauch à trois in Van's Manhattan flat Van Veen (the narrator and main character in Ada) calls Lucette "BOP (bird of paradise):"