By chance, I read Bobbie Ann Mason's
1988 book "Spence and Lila." Like most of her novels and stories (at
least the ones I recall), it is a nicely constructed portrait of rural
life in the upper South. Mason is the author of the first book study
on ADA: "Nabokov's Garden. A Guide to ADa" (Ardis, 1974). A revised PhD
dissertation, the work explores the novel's nature themes and motifs
and sheds a good deal of light on its larger themes. Mason has a good
grasp of natural history that she puts to good use in her analysis.
My encounter with "Spence and Lila"
brought to mind a thought that has bemused me off and on over the
years. Nabokov is very much a writers' writer and left his imprint on
many. Mason is an intriguing case of a writer who knows VN very well
but remains outside his sphere of influence. Probably a good decision
since playing the Nabokov note is bound to induce invidious comparisons.