A Revolver to Carry at Night
"So Vladimir sat down again at his desk, not without some difficulty, and pretended to write, but he couldn't concentrate. He was thinking about Vera and himself when they were just twenty . . ." - Monika Zgustova
Zgustova convincingly conveys the interaction of memory, art, and motivation whether or not it is historical. Her provocative, psychological portrait of a remarkable woman and the man she helped steer toward greatness is presented in just 150 pages, interspersed with a number of quiet scenes. It is an engrossing, subtle depiction of the life of Véra Nabokov, who devoted herself to furthering her husband's literary career and was instrumental in the composition of his best-known works.
In many ways, Véra Nabokov (1902–1991) was the quintessential wife of a great man: she was acutely aware of her husband's extraordinary talent and made his success her ultimate goal throughout their fifty-two-year marriage until his death in 1977. Véra worked as an editor and typist and was the first person to read his texts. She organized their life in exile, organizing trips to Berlin, Paris, Switzerland, and most importantly, the US, where she persuaded Vladimir to concentrate on writing novels in English. She managed the family's finances and contract negotiations, and she even went so far as to audit his classes.
Monika Zgustova immerses us in the everyday lives of this extraordinary couple in this rich, expansive book, providing insights into their intricate personal and professional relationships as well as the real people who lie behind characters like Lolita. Though Véra prided herself on being independent, was she really that much of an independent woman given how much room her husband occupied? Might Nabokov have emerged as one of the greatest authors of the 20th century without Véra?
In many ways, Véra Nabokov (1902–1991) was the quintessential wife of a great man: she was acutely aware of her husband's extraordinary talent and made his success her ultimate goal throughout their fifty-two-year marriage until his death in 1977. Véra worked as an editor and typist and was the first person to read his texts. She organized their life in exile, organizing trips to Berlin, Paris, Switzerland, and most importantly, the US, where she persuaded Vladimir to concentrate on writing novels in English. She managed the family's finances and contract negotiations, and she even went so far as to audit his classes.
Monika Zgustova immerses us in the everyday lives of this extraordinary couple in this rich, expansive book, providing insights into their intricate personal and professional relationships as well as the real people who lie behind characters like Lolita. Though Véra prided herself on being independent, was she really that much of an independent woman given how much room her husband occupied? Might Nabokov have emerged as one of the greatest authors of the 20th century without Véra?
2 comments:
I hadn’t heard of this. Thank you for sharing.
www.rsrue.blogspot.com
This was a recommendation from the local (Chicago) Seminary Co-op. They often recommend unusual or uncommon books.
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