Vladimir Nabokov

Annotations by Alexey Sklyarenko

Description

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

By Alexey Sklyarenko , 10 June, 2020

Describing his landlord's house, Kinbote (in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade’s mad Commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) mentions Judge Goldsworth's four daughters: Alphina, Betty, Candida and Dee:

 

By Alexey Sklyarenko , 8 June, 2020

According to Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969), in the last game of Flavita (the Russian Scrabble) that he played at Ardis with Ada and Lucette (Van’s and Ada’s half-sister) Lucette’s letters formed the word Kremlin:

 

By Alexey Sklyarenko , 6 June, 2020

According to Kinbote (in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962, Shade’s mad Commentator who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla), Villa Disa was at first called Villa Paradiso, or in Zemblan Villa Paradisa:

 

By Alexey Sklyarenko , 5 June, 2020

The characters in VN’s novel Pale Fire (1962) include Sybil Shade (the poet’s wife) and Queen Disa (the wife of Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla). In the second stanza of his poem Moya pechal’ teper’ spokoyna… (“My sadness is now serene,” 1901) Bunin mentions golos Sibilly (the voice of a Sybil) and tishina primorskoy villy (the silence of a seaside villa):

 

By Alexey Sklyarenko , 4 June, 2020

When Demon (in VN’s novel Ada, 1969, Van’s and Ada’s father) unexpectedly visits his son in order to tell him about Uncle Dan’s death, all Van can think of saying is ‘I am not alone’ (je ne suis pas seul):

 

By Alexey Sklyarenko , 4 June, 2020

When Lucette (Van’s and Ada’s half-sister who crosses the Atlantic with Van on Admiral Tobakoff) rings him up in his cabin, Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) tells her: ya ne odin (“I’m not alone”):