Ada to Zembla

'A superbly lucid account of what Nabokov wrote how he wrote it and why it matters; Vernon's critical intelligence always illuminates and is never sidetracked by the forgotten butterfly of revelation. Ada to Zembla can be read by the novice and the more experienced Nabokovian with equal amounts of pleasure. Highly recommended.' — Prof Rhodri Lewis Princeton University. 'I have long hoped for a book like this to appear ... A beautiful work of devotion to the great master.'— Dr Erik Eklund Northwestern University. 'Vernon writes with as much ebullience and linguistic delight as the novelist does […] The sheer scope of topics upon which Vernon touches is remarkable. […] He envisages Nabokov as a whole corpus in an excitingly readable way that has not hitherto been accomplished.' — Decadent Serpent. 'David Vernon has done an especial service for those who want to try Nabokov but fear his difficulty. Serious yet accessible discerning yet appreciative full of genuine zest and relish Vernon's Ada to Zembla represents what writing for the common aesthetic good must be about. This is a sharp-eyed guidebook that invites entertains and challenges readers' preconceptions in the most earnest and sympathetic of ways. The good news of Nabokov's work deserves a wider audience. Vernon is the gifted evangelist to spread that gospel.'— Ryan Asmussen University of Illinois. Exile émigré and refugee Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977) was buffeted by the tides of his times from the Russian Revolution to the rise of Hitler. But he converted that personal anarchy into a seductive often controversial art which searches for meaning amid cruelty and loss.In Ada to Zembla: The Novels of Vladimir Nabokov David Vernon explores the works of one of the twentieth century’s key writers: hilarious exquisite but complex worlds which challenge our complacency and interrogate our perception of beauty reality and identity.Lucid and lively this is the first book in English to devote a chapter to each of Nabokov’s novels in both Russian and English – from his debut Mary to the posthumous Laura. Supplementary essays discuss Speak Memory and other non-fiction plus the short stories poetry and plays as well as Nabokov’s lifelong engagement with chess and butterflies.Ada to Zembla offers keys to Nabokov’s many locked doors revealing not only the layers and networks of his novels but their emotional depth and playful sport.