Annotations by Alexey Sklyarenko

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.’

Just before Shade (the poet in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962) is killed by Gradus, Kinbote (Shade’s mad commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) invites the poet to a glass of Tokay at his place:

"Well," I said, "has the muse been kind to you?"

According to Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969), the real destination of poor mad Aqua (the twin sister of Van's, Ada's and Lucette's mother Marina) was Terra the Fair:

Describing his success as Mascodagama (Van’s stage name under which he performs in variety shows dancing a jig and a tango on his hands), Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) mentions the Ladore, Ladoga, Laguna, Lugano and Luga papers:

In VN’s novel Ada (1969) Cordula de Prey (Van’s mistress with whom he lives in Manhattan after leaving Ardis forever and fighting a pistol duel in Kalugano) calls Vanda Broom (Ada’s lesbian schoolmate at Brownhill) “a regular tribadka:”