Annotations by Alexey Sklyarenko

Describing his life in Paris in the 1930s, Vadim Vadimovich (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Look at the Harlequins!, 1974) mentions one of his translators, Mr. Kulich:

According to Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969), in the preamble to a game she now could not remember Ada was mumbling and numbering in raw-flesh red the white trunks of a row of young birches with Rose’s purloined lipstick:

Describing the last game of Flavita (Russian Scrabble) that he played at Ardis with Ada and Lucette (Van’s and Ada’s half-sister), Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) mentions the words ORHIDEYA and TORFYaNUYu composed by Ada:

On Admiral Tobakoff Lucette (in VN’s novel Ada, 1969, Van’s and Ada’s half-sister) tells Van that the Robinsons (an elderly couple) had saved her life by giving her on the eve a tubeful of Quietus Pills:

‘Please,’ said Lucette, ‘I’m tired of walking around, I’m frail, I’m feverish, I hate storms, let’s all go to bed!’

In VN’s novel Ada (1969) Van and Ada find out that they are brother and sister thanks to Marina’s old herbarium that they discovered in the attic of Ardis Hall:

Describing the picnic on Ada’s sixteenth birthday, Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) mentions the muscat wine and his raised lunel:

The muscat wine was uncorked. Ada’s and Ida’s healths drunk. ‘The conversation became general,’ as Monparnasse liked to write.

Count Percy de Prey turned to Ivan Demianovich Veen:

‘I’m told you like abnormal positions?’

At the beginning of his lecture on dreams Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) asks “what are dreams:”

What are dreams? A random sequence of scenes, trivial or tragic, viatic or static, fantastic or familiar, featuring more or less plausible events patched up with grotesque details, and recasting dead people in new settings. (2.4)

Describing the library of Ardis Hall, Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) mentions the mating habits of the fly Serromyia amorata Poupart and says that he prefers to burn than to be slurped up alive by the Cheramie:

According to Ada, she is only a pale wild girl with gipsy hair in a deathless ballad, in a nulliverse, in Rattner’s "menald world" where the only principle is random variation:

After the dinner in ‘Ursus’ with Ada and Lucette (Van’s and Ada’s half-sister), Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) asks Lucette to tell him the name of Ada’s fiancé and promises to reward her with a very special kiss:

‘My dear,’ said Van, ‘do help me. She told me about her Valentian estanciero but now the name escapes me and I hate bothering her.’