I have been going through ADA and Boyd's annotations, enjoying both immensely. One possible nod to Tolstoy that Boyd may have missed: in Part One Chapter Six of ADA, VN writes that, of the servant's quarters, "all [Ada] remembered was a canary and ancient machine for grinding coffee beans."

In ANNA KARENIN, in Part One Chapter Thirty-Two, Vronsky visits his decadent friends, one of whom, Baroness Shilton, is described as "filling the whole room, like a canary..." and, on the next page, demonstrates a gadget for making coffee." (Guerney trans. pgs. 130-131).

I'm not sure what the reference means in the context of ADA but it certainly seems to be a signpost to AK (yet another!)

----- Original Message -----

Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2005 3:37 PM

Subject: Pale Fire and Stephen Soderbergh

http://daddytypes.com/archive/2005/04/18/from_the_gospel_according_to_people_magazine.html

April 18, 2005

From The Gospel According To People Magazine

Dear Vivian,
Thanks for your vivid comments on my blog. While I can totally see how my linking to a wire service press release might lead you to think I might know the Phoenix-Afflecks, I must confess that I don't. At present, I have no plans to meet them.

If you haven't picked up a copy yet, I would encourage you to read Pale Fire, by Vladimir Nabokov. It is also a story of a poet, and it happens to be a favorite of Steven Soderbergh, the director of Ocean's Twelve. Something tells me you'd really like it.

Thanks again for your comments, and please accept my sincerest wishes for your peace and health.

Greg Allen
daddytypes.com ;)