Vladimir Nabokov

Annotations by Alexey Sklyarenko

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Please read Alexey Sklyarenko's annotations on Pale FireAda and other Nabokov works here.

By Alexey Sklyarenko , 30 July, 2021

According to Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969), after visiting Radugalet (the ‘other Ardis’), Marina (Van’s, Ada’s and Lucette’s mother) conjectured that Grandpa Bagrov (who hobbled in from a nap in the boudoir) mistook her for a grande cocotte:

 

By Alexey Sklyarenko , 29 July, 2021

At the end of VN’s novel Ada (1969) Van Veen (at least, it seems that Van is saying this) says that he is afraid that he and Ada are going to wound a lot of people:

 

‘As lovers and siblings,’ she cried, ‘we have a double chance of being together in eternity, in terrarity. Four pairs of eyes in paradise!’

‘Neat, neat,’ said Van.

By Alexey Sklyarenko , 25 July, 2021

Describing Flavita (the Russian Scrabble), Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) says that at chess Ada is not as good as at Flavita and mentions one of those anti-dandruff color-photo ads that show a beautiful model (made for other games than chess) staring at the shoulder of her otherwise impeccably groomed antagonist across a preposterous traffic jam of white and scarlet: