I need to clear up something in regards to Nabokov and then present a different kind of Nabokov review that will be from an unfiltered point of view.
What I mean by unfiltered is, leaving out any remarks as seen through the Lolita filter as if Lolita is his ultimate work everything else less than.
I will compare the two in relation to how a controversial theme is used to fool you into a deep examination of different human conditions.
It seems like the common trend with amazon reviewers in relation to Nabokov's books is to immediately compare it to Lolita. This is like beginning an essay with a negation of the main thesis.
I will not compare this to Lolita, but will include Lolita as a reaction to why Nabokov used another provocative theme.
The big misunderstanding of Lolita and the main important context of Ada, is these books are not about the controversial themes but maneuver within the provocative context as a literary technique.
Here we are treated to philosophical technique that begs the attention of the reader and separate themselves into 2 categories: a. the reader looking for a controversial story that remains that way on the surface as well as within. b. the reader that knows Nabokov is constantly challenging you with multilayered concepts, and the controversial elements are probably not to be focused on, and are essentially anagrams in the same way actual word anagrams are used in many of Nabokov books.
You are falling for Nabokov's dark humor if you believe Ada is about incest just like you are being duped if you believe Lolita is about a pedophile.
Being that Lolita became a cultural phenomenon for all of the wrong reasons Ada does have a main theme that is constantly commenting on what a work of art can do if placed in a category that showcases it in the wrong light.
In Ada the characters are living in a world called Terra, where many things are similar to our world but drastically different. This concept is eerily similar to modern physics theories such as Brane theory. There is an anti Terra realm that is identical to this concept leaving a comical interpretation open to suggesting that anti Terra may be out world or possible a Brane slice.
The hidden joke here is it is never totally implied that incest is wrong. Being that the main characters are from a privileged background you get to see the intricately complex and comedic ways in which anti Terra compares to ours.
Here Nabokov creates a huge canvass to mix fantasy with reality, as well as take the reader on a crash course in academic literature as well as philosophy of time wile constantly joking about the differences in the two realities.
The theme of incest feels almost like an invisible fence that locks out readers who will not understand. He makes the first 40 pages extremely challenging in a way that feels again like a security devise that real Nabokov fans should recognize.(i read the first 40 pages 3 times) After Pale Fire Nabokov set in stone that he is not your normal author and at times especially with his later works your getting into a multidimensional reading experience. With Ada he literally installs a double secure security device to keep the wrong people out and apparently it worked, because you do not here about this masterwork alongside say Lolita or Pale Fire.
Ada is not about sex or incest its's, i feel a bittersweet and compassionate experiment about memory being one of the best tools to mental paradise humans have. The story is about the passing of time and the importance of family and loved ones. It is also a seriously affectionate and compassionate love story. The story of Van and Ada is one of the great romances in literature because it has a bittersweet honesty that can be very useful to people as a very effective work of art. More than anything this is a beautiful observation of time and the attempt to capture the beauty of youth as well as create a therapeutic way to get through life by using constant mnemonic ques or written forms to always remind yourself of better times. There is something very serious going on here among the humor. I feel the Terra concept is the ultimate way of deconstructing learned mores and linguistics as well as our common socioeconomic climates to ask very important questions--What is a taboo and why is a taboo a taboo? And ultimately what is a book and the purpose of serious literature.
I think Nabokov was bothered by the reaction to Lolita and Ada is like him attempting to probe into similar ground without accidentally catering to a predominantly commercial mindset due to subject matter outshining the inner artistic point.
Ada is an important and therapeutic experience that will help you through life if you let it. The first thing you hear or read about in relation to this book is incest. The main character has a very beautiful love affair with his sister that spans a lifetime and remember being that Terra differs from our world in extreme ways the morals and socioeconomic climate is not defined well enough to let the reader know the extent of incest as a taboo.
Vans story is a wake up call in one sense for people to not let go of their true love-life is short. Ada also resembles the timeless struggle that men or women go through in not wanting the fire of a romance to burn out and the fear of becoming dull.
I feel the sexual content in this one is a sarcastic way of commenting on the people who misunderstood Lolita.
Lolita proposed a question of what happens when an otherwise brilliant person --Humbert--has a social disease that that makes him viewed in society as a pillar while underneath the surface he falls into the category of a monster--Lolita is also about accountability for mental illness and what defines mental illness-and most importantly what happens when you put 2 people together that both have character defects to the extent of being a mental issue. Who is to blame--and how do we deal with these people because they are still human beings and are weak.
In ada the sex scenes are actually described rather than poetically suggested. This again is to throw you off. I will take a break here and finish this review later.
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Reviews with images
Old copy?
Bought this for myself since I’ve gotten into Vladimir Nabokov. I don’t know if this is a Vintage International issue but the copy I received had scuffs on the cover and somewhat warped pages. Just disappointing because this has come from the U.S to the P.H. Fortunately, didn’t pay much for shipping.
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J. Jacques Austerveil
pour apprendre l'anglais
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