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Laughter in the Dark

3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 · rating details · 4,370 ratings · 293 reviews

This is the way Vladimir Nabokow's Laughter In The Dark begins: 'Once upon a time there lived in Berlin, Germany, a man called Albinus. He was rich, respectable, happy; one day he abandoned his wife for the sake of a youthful mistress; he loved; was not loved; and his life ended in disaster.' And he starts from here, with his characteristic dazzling skill and irony, and cl...more

Paperback, 292 pages

Published September 17th 2006 by New Directions (first published 1932)

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Mar 21, 2008 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Well, Laughter in the Dark was by far the worst novel I’ve read by Nabokov. And that’s to say that it was a solidly good, funny, and engaging book. Like many of his novels, the plot is your basic old- man- obsessed- with- inappropriately- aged- girl- who- also- happens- to- be- evil- and- this- as- you- might- guess- ends- in- tragedy and the tone is the only one you can have with such a plot – it’s a very dark comedy. I hope.

I found that this book fell into the same category as his other early...more Well, Laughter in the Dark was by far the worst novel I’ve read by Nabokov. And that’s to say that it was a solidly good, funny, and engaging book. Like many of his novels, the plot is your basic old- man- obsessed- with- inappropriately- aged- girl- who- also- happens- to- be- evil- and- this- as- you- might- guess- ends- in- tragedy and the tone is the only one you can have with such a plot – it’s a very dark comedy. I hope.

I found that this book fell into the same category as his other early work that I’ve read, Depair, in that it seems to be an illustration of the timeless author learning the ropes and beginning to understand his interests and abilities. Although it’s no masterpiece, Laughter in the Dark is still a pleasure to read and a great window into how Nabokov developed both his life-long themes and writing tools.

To those Nabokov snobs who might say, “Laughter in the Dark is nothing more than a shoddy rendition of Lolita,” I say to you, how many novels did you write in your mother tongue when you were thirty and then translated into a foreign language two years later? I mean, of course it’s not as good as Lolita, which is one of the best books of our time and written in the prime of Nabokov’s genius. But it can still be good.

In fact, more than anything, I’d recommend this book to anyone about to board an airplane. The whole time I was reading it, I was almost wishing I had saved it for my next trip.

1. It is printed in a big, easy-to-read font that makes it hard to lose your place even when you get distracted by airplane stuff.
2. It only takes about 3 or 4 hours to read.
3. It has a very fast-moving and weird, deviant plot – so deviant, in fact, that you could probably forget you are flying through the air at dangerous speeds.
4.It makes those around notice that you are interested in early-era Nabokov, which makes you really smart and interesting. They don’t have to know that it’s a pretty easy, fun read filled with weird sex.
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May 07, 2010 Paquita Maria Sanchez rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: literature

Leave it to Nabokov to strip you of your faith in humanity.

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Jan 10, 2013 Eric rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I periodically revisit a handful of authors (kundera, kafka, calvino, queneau, fleming etc.) - why? to reaffirm my faith in humanity, or in something you may call "human achievement?" "art??" (ugh). perhaps for the thrill of experiencing a unique pleasure in a certain kind of intellectual, or, better, cerebral stimulation that has no equal anywhere else in nature (or human construction!) what am I talking about?!?!? all of this is a way of saying that nabokov is one of that select few, perhaps t...more

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Nov 08, 2008 Mojgan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

به شما میگن این تصویر بهم ریخته ی یک اسبه و باز شما با اولین نمایی که ازش می بینید مشتاقانه تصویر تکمیل می کنید
شما تمام داستان را در یک پاراگراف کوتاه میخونید اما باز ادامه میدید و بسیار زیبا با داستان جلو میرید
من به حماقت های آلبینوس نه خندیدم و نه لجم گرفت فقط بینهایت غمگین شدم برای کسی که جسارت کرد زندگی تکراری شو تغییر بده و زندگی باهاش بیرحم بود

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Oct 23, 2007 Brent Legault rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: blue angels, little tramps

Shelves: lovingly-reread

The trick with Nabokov, with any novelist, is to sympathize not with the characters but with characters' creator. There is no one in this novel to get behind, not even the betrayed wife or her sick little girl. Because they are but props, silent-movie cliches. All three of the leads are detestable, each in their own way. And the plot is as outlandish and unlikely as the films Nabokov was having fun with. What makes the book worth reading is, as always, his style and his lovely, lyrical detail. B...more

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May 03, 2013 olaszka rated it 3 of 5 stars

i'm giving this book three stars for one reason only - i don't have to balls to give it any less because it's nabokov. the other day i bumped into a friend while reading this novel and told her how atrocious it was. she didn't quite believe me because she didn't think nabokov was capable of bad writing.
it turns out he is. i understand that this novel needed to happen so that lolita could happen twenty years later. i can see how it paved the way. but honestly, this is one lousy story, it's loli...more

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Jan 13, 2013 Cynthia Haggard rated it 5 of 5 stars

“Once upon a time there lived in Berlin, Germany, a man called Albinus. He was rich, respectable, happy; one day he abandoned his wife for the sake of a youthful mistress; he loved; was not loved; and his life ended in disaster. This is the whole of the story and we might have left it at that had there not been profit and pleasure in the telling; and although there is plenty of space on a gravestone to contain, bound in moss, the abridged version of a man’s life, detail is always welcome.”

So beg...more

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Oct 05, 2012 Brian Hull rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I need to first admit that I'm a big fan of Vladimir Nabokov. I greatly enjoy his style of writing, and there has been only one book thus far that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed (Glory). This book is a tragic story of betrayal and deception. The main protagonist, a wealthy art critic named Albinus, falls for a young lover who ultimately becomes his ruin - this is a common theme that runs through most of Nabokov's work.

The story flows incredibly smoothly, with a few plot twists that while not entir...more

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Sep 16, 2012 John rated it 3 of 5 stars

A 3.5

Leave it to Nabokov to tell give away the whole plot in the first paragraph and still make the book an intriguing story. Nabokov tells you right away that Albinus will leave his wife for a women who does not love him, and his life will end disastrously. And that is exactly what happens. Yet still as I read the book there was almost a disbelief about the whole thing, that certainly Albinus would not make the choices he did.

Nabokov is brilliant in capturing the blind rapture of love. That p...more A 3.5

Leave it to Nabokov to tell give away the whole plot in the first paragraph and still make the book an intriguing story. Nabokov tells you right away that Albinus will leave his wife for a women who does not love him, and his life will end disastrously. And that is exactly what happens. Yet still as I read the book there was almost a disbelief about the whole thing, that certainly Albinus would not make the choices he did.

Nabokov is brilliant in capturing the blind rapture of love. That people can fall head over heels in love and make obviously reckless and harmful decisions. Albinus was so blind in his love that Nabokov causes him to go blind. It is a plot twist that perhaps would seem too cumbersome or overly overt for a lesser writer to overcome. But Nabokov pulls it off.

I have yet to read a book by Nabokov that does not have brilliant passages. This is no exception. Nabokov’s descriptions are usually simple, but seem to bring to life the essence of what he is trying to get across. I particularly loved the nuance of Elisabeth, who, early on, is described as pretending to forget what topic is being discussed. It is a quirky, defining trait that brings her to life. The scene at the ice rink was another favorite.

I enjoyed the style of storytelling used. Nabokov jumped almost seamlessly from one character’s point of view to another. We are able to get inside the heads of the various characters, and that enriches our understanding of the choice each character is making. It makes Albinus all the more tragic when we understand how wrong he is about Margot and Rex.

This book appears to be a precursor to Lolita. Almost a dry run of similar ideas. Both are tales of deception wrapped in deception, where deceivers are being deceived. Both pair an older male to a much younger female.

I would argue that this book is a good one to get introduced to Nabokov. It is a pretty quick read that gives you a taste of some of his wit and introduces you to his very flawed characters that he loves. If you enjoy this book, I think the chances are good you will enjoy other works which require a bit more commitment to read. (Pale Fire, Lolita, Pnin)
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Aug 12, 2012 Pliyo Senpai rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: novela

¿Y si existiera algo capaz de hacer peligrar el vínculo de un matrimonio? ¿Y si existiera un impulso por el que arriesgar toda la estabilidad construida durante años en pareja, a cambio de una idea superior de lo que entendemos por felicidad? ¿Y si tomásemos ese camino? ¿a dónde nos llevaría?

Algunos de estos interrogantes se podría haber preguntado Albinus, el protagonista de Risa en la oscuridad. Con él empezará la novela, con un paseo hacia su secreto, hacia la decisión que le hará arriesgar s...more

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Dec 17, 2011 marg rated it 3 of 5 stars

Because I worship the ground Nabokov walks on, I can't give this fewer than three stars, and even felt compelled to go the full four, but that seemed a bit of a stretch.
Nabokov does two things extraordinarily well - language, and humor. This was the latter. However, this was really dark wit, and though I always think I'm into that, apparently I have my limits.
Laughter in the Dark is very obviously a farce, meant to, I suppose, highlight the absurdity of what passed (and perhaps passes) for moder...more

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Jun 19, 2011 Venus rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novel

خنده در تاریکی از آن دست داستانهایی که زیاد شنیده ایم و خوانده ایم و شاهد بوده ایم . ناباکوف خود به طنز، دقیقا به همین نکته اشاره می کند که کل داستان را می توان در چند خط شرح داد به جایی هم برنمی خورد :
"روزی روزگاری در شهر برلین آلمان مردی زندگی می کرد به نام آلبینوس او متمول و محترم و خوشبخت بود، یک روز همسرش را به خاطر دختری جوان ترک کرد، عشق ورزید ، مورد بی مهری قرار گرفت و زندگی اش در بدبختی و فلاکت به پایان رسید" (ص 1)
داستان به شیوه ی دانای کل روایت می شود و نمایانگر طنز سیاه ناباکوف است.او...more

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Mar 07, 2011 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

The first sentence of Laughter in the Dark tells you exactly how the book is going to end. The narrator says knowing the outcome won't matter, because the details leading up to the ending are just as important; a nice reminder that we should read in order to enjoy the journey and not just for the resolution.
The main character of Laughter in the Dark is Albinus, a middle aged, successful art critic who is chiefly motivated by aesthetics and a desire to be immersed and respected in the art world....more The first sentence of Laughter in the Dark tells you exactly how the book is going to end. The narrator says knowing the outcome won't matter, because the details leading up to the ending are just as important; a nice reminder that we should read in order to enjoy the journey and not just for the resolution.
The main character of Laughter in the Dark is Albinus, a middle aged, successful art critic who is chiefly motivated by aesthetics and a desire to be immersed and respected in the art world. Early in the book he decides to leaves the happiness and comfort of his wife and child in order to start an affair with the 18 year old Margot who he meets moonlighting one evening in a movie theatre. She is uncultured, slattern, and shrill, who at no time displays anything resembling a decent human being. Albinus loves her for her looks. Margot tolerates Albinus for his money.
You can't help but look at this book as a direct precursor to Lolita. Margot and Lolita have a lot in common, as do Albinus and H.H. There's a subtlety to the characters in Lolita that makes the story more ambiguous and complex. While H.H. is certainly trying to coerce Lolita into something sordid, his helpless compulsion and degree of intellect makes you feel somewhat sympathetic to his perverse condition. Albinus is far more pathetic than H.H. and a great deal less intelligent. He has several opportunities to abandon the blatantly opportunistic Margot and return to his family, but he is too fond of possessing Margot, which he views as a one of a kind work of art.
Laughter in the Dark is economical in its prose, simplistic in its characters, and often resembling a fable (with a moral lesson on vanity that's hard to miss). The concise writing and short chapters that Nabokov uses creates a cohesiveness that makes Laughter in the Dark easy to read in just a few sittings. Each chapter ends in a cliff hanger which begs the reader to continue on. The only critique I would make of the novels simplicity is the characters are often devoid of grey area; you dislike Margot and her lover Axel and pity Albinus (the pity runs out when you recall his abandonment of his family.) Although, don't confuse simple writing with poor writing. Nabokov is as virtuous and poignant as ever in his prose style.
This is a fantastic book and Nabokov manages to pack a lot of great scenes and dialogue into the short (wide margined) 292 pages. It's also an excellent glimpse into pre WWII Berlin. Laughter in the Dark is an excellent example of how simplicity can often be the best way to make an impression, leaving the reader feeling like a puzzle was solved in as few steps as possible.
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Feb 13, 2011 Denis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the first novel by Nabokov that I've read so far. It's quite a surprising discovery. The plot is extraordinarily melodramatic, in a deliberately over the top way, even sometimes to the point of being hard to believe (as in the last part, which has a kind of Hitchockian feel), yet Nabokov makes it work with astonishing dexterity. He manages to do that mostly through his style : ironic, cruel, detached, amused, Nabokov's writing distances itself (and therefore the reader) from the crazines...more

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Dec 20, 2010 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm sticking up for this book. A lot of the reviews I've read have panned it, but they shouldn't. It's a great book.

The protagonist is a philandering middle-aged art critic named Albinus. He sets out to get a mistress--with disastrous results. The mistress he secures, Margot, is a vamp, a femme fatale, a pouting silver screen siren, a Louise Brooks look-alike who leads poor blundering Albinus around by his balls and his wallet. She demands they go on extravagant vacations. She throws temper tant...more

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Sep 15, 2010 adam rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I hadn't read any Nabokov in five or six years, and I'd forgotten how much fun it is to get into one of his novels. LAUGHTER IN THE DARK is about a middle-aged German art critic in the 1920's who leaves his wife and child for a 16-year old, beautiful, femme fatale-ish prostitute. She proceeds to methodically toy with and then destroy the critic's life with the help of her lover, an animator with a nihilist streak. This is usually regarded as one of Nabokov's early, inessential works, and its int...more

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Oct 21, 2009 Winmonroe rated it 2 of 5 stars

Laughter in the Dark - Nabokov 5/10

Casa De Libros had a small selection of literature English including this book. My love for Nabokov is well known, but I found it curious such an earlier unheard of book would be among their narrow selection of literature in English (especially as it was written in Russian originally). I am typically very very careful in my book selection, which is why I am usually very pleased with everything I read and give all the things I read such high ratings. By the end...more

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Jan 24, 2008 Bonnie rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 28, 2012 Guilia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A first Nabokov for me - I thought despite the restrictions and constraints of translation, the writing moved very easily and was bright and lively, although at times i wondered if the descriptions were perhaps more simplistic and clumsy in English than they would have been in Russian.

Really enjoyed Rex's thoughts on Hegelian syllogism (not that i know much about Hegel anyway) but thought the sadism and cruelty heart breaking - God! And the ending ! That big brown suit!

The metaphor i thought wa...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Joey-Joey-Jo-Jo rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book has the interesting property of becoming twice as awesome each time you get ~50% closer to the end of the story. The first 140 pages? Meh. There is mostly just this nervous tension as Albinus wrecks his life and marriage, a bit like when someone starts to walk into the basement in a horror movie. The next 70 pages are much better, as Rex joins the group and completes the triad. This section is close to the platonic form of a Nabokov book, and after the uninspiring first half it was so...more

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Nov 02, 2010 Ann Johnson rated it 5 of 5 stars

I’ve read a lot of Nabokov, but haven’t yet read Lolita, and I guess it’s good that I got to Laughter in the Dark first, seeing as how so many people’s reviews categorize it as a warm-up for Lolita. So maybe it’s just because I am Lolita-naïve that I really really enjoyed Laughter. The story is painful but not in a sinister way, more in a real-life-is-not-a-fairy-tale way. The characters are destructive and repellent, but not to the point that I couldn’t find at least some sympathy for poor Albi...more

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Aug 05, 2010 Alireza rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literature, novel

ناباکوف می گوید نویسنده بایددر آن واحد سه نفر باشد: داستان گو، معلم و جادوگر که در نهایت جادوگر غلبه می کند. کاری که خودِ ناباکوف انجام می دهد.
جادو!
حتی این بدترین و کمترین رمانِ وی از لحاظ خلاقیت های ناباکوف بسیار خواندنی و جذاب است. این رمان در واقع زمانی که از سنت پترزبورگ به برلین مهاجرت کرده بودند نوشته شده. از نظر زمانی تقریبان همزمان با رمان چشم اوست. 1930
در فضای سینماییِ آن روز های برلین، روایتی طنز از قصه ای کلیشه ای را نمایش می دهد. اما طنزی سراسر خلاقیت و "ناباکوفی". طنزی که خودِ ناب...more ناباکوف می گوید نویسنده بایددر آن واحد سه نفر باشد: داستان گو، معلم و جادوگر که در نهایت جادوگر غلبه می کند. کاری که خودِ ناباکوف انجام می دهد.
جادو!
حتی این بدترین و کمترین رمانِ وی از لحاظ خلاقیت های ناباکوف بسیار خواندنی و جذاب است. این رمان در واقع زمانی که از سنت پترزبورگ به برلین مهاجرت کرده بودند نوشته شده. از نظر زمانی تقریبان همزمان با رمان چشم اوست. 1930
در فضای سینماییِ آن روز های برلین، روایتی طنز از قصه ای کلیشه ای را نمایش می دهد. اما طنزی سراسر خلاقیت و "ناباکوفی". طنزی که خودِ ناباکوف آنرا طنزِ هگلی نام نهاده.
تز: برای خنداندن شخصیت ها
آنتی تز: برای خنداندنِ مخاطب
سنتز: برای سردرگمی مخاطب!
به شخصه از خواندنِ آثار این نابغه ی بزرگِ ادبیات که زمان خودش کمتر دیده شد و شاید به حاشیه ی لولیتای معروفش بیشتر پرداخته شد تا نبوغ بی حد و حصرش، لذتی بیش می برم.
البته اندکی هم افسوس می خورم که چرا باید ترجمه ی آثارش را بخوانم. در حالی که معجزه ی اصلیِ او در زبان اصلیِ کتاب رخ داده. و همیشه تا زمانی که زنده بود ترجمه های کتاب هایش زیرِ نظر خودش به وسیله ی پسرش دیمیتری انجام می شد. فقط این بخش از لولیتا را نگاه کنید و فکر کنید که اگر به فارسی ترجمه شود چه لطمه ای خواهد خورد (متاسفانه ذبیح ا... منصوری آنرا به فارسی "تالیف" کرده!!!) س

"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta. She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita. Did she have a precursor? She did, indeed she did. In point of fact, there might have been no Lolita at all had I not loved, one summer, an initial girl-child. In a princedom by the sea. Oh when? About as many years before Lolita was born as my age was that summer. You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, exhibit number one is what the seraphs, the misinformed, simple, noble-winged seraphs, envied. Look at this tangle of thorns." (less)

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Oct 19, 2012 Ivana rated it 4 of 5 stars

In the opening lines Nabokov reveals both the plot and the tone of the book and yet it doesn't make it any less interesting. The opening lines attracted me immediately:

“Once upon a time there lived in Berlin, Germany, a man called Albinus. He was rich, respectable, happy; one day he abandoned his wife for the sake of a youthful mistress; he loved; was not loved; and his life ended in disaster.

This is the whole of the story and we might have left it at that had there not been profit and pleasure...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Dale R. Wilsey Jr. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: literature, fiction, 4-star

This, being the first Nabokov novel I've read, has left me impressed. No, I have yet to read Lolita, but, if it is his masterpiece, then surely I will enjoy it even more so than this quick-paced, morbidly humorous and unfortunate tale.

These characters are absolutely treacherous and, although I almost have a hankering to feel badly for Albinus, the man gets what he deserves after having so many chances to redeem himself. A man who hits rock bottom and continues to plow right through it to Hell.

Ma...more

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Sep 21, 2011 محمّد rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

نویسنده، کلیت داستان را در پاراگراف اول به صورت خلاصه میگوید. اینکه در پایان چه خواهد شد. البته توضیح میدهد که دانستن مسائلی که در این بین می‌افتد داستان را شکل میدهد و جذاب میکند.
این روزها هر جایی که سرک میکشی، در سینما، در عکسها و زندگی انسان‌های دور و بر، رابطه‌های موازی میبینی. خیانت مایه‌ی اصلی آنها را تشکیل می‌دهد. این کتاب هم داستان خیانت آلبینوس پولدار است که در کنار همسر و دخترش در برلین زندگی میکند. اما به سرش میزند که معشوقه‌ای که دلش را برده است را بدست آورد و با او زندگیش را بگذراند...more

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Jun 04, 2010 Jered rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010

Laughter in the Dark is definitely not as artfully written as Lolita. Perhaps this is partly due to the fact that it was originally written in Russian and later translated by the author. Or, maybe it just shows how Nabokov improved as a writer between work on the two novels.
Laughter in the Dark feels like a trial run for Lolita. I would have been much more entertained by this novel if it did not remind me so much of that more famous work. The similarities make it impossible not to constantly c...more Laughter in the Dark is definitely not as artfully written as Lolita. Perhaps this is partly due to the fact that it was originally written in Russian and later translated by the author. Or, maybe it just shows how Nabokov improved as a writer between work on the two novels.
Laughter in the Dark feels like a trial run for Lolita. I would have been much more entertained by this novel if it did not remind me so much of that more famous work. The similarities make it impossible not to constantly compare and contrast. By comparison, the prose is un-poetic, the plot is almost non-existent, the characters lifeless and flat, the protagonist is downright boring and does not play on my sympathies one spec (which really points out how fantastically crafted Lolita is... to have made me root and cheer for the obsessed, soulless, pedophile narrator.) Even the girl with whom the protagonist is enchanted is without dimension-- I just don't care about ANYBODY in this story. Not even the spurned wife or the abandoned daughter. The minor character of the brother-in-law is the only one that Nabokov makes me relate to, and yet the narrative seems to attempt to paint him in a bad light.
Anyway... none of this is intended to demean the book, nor the author. I am only pointing out that Laughter in the Dark is nowhere near as artfully twisted as Lolita. And, regrettably, the prose lacks all the poetically turned phrases and humorous asides that Lolita caused me to expect from Nabokov. Rarely have I come across a book so perfectly written as Lolita. (I can't understand how a non-native-English-speaker could devise some of the crowning paragraphs in the long history of the lanquage!) If Laughter in the Dark were the only Nabokov I had read, I would wonder what all the hubbub was about.
I do need to say that I loved the way Laughter in the Dark began. At first, I understood the protagonist's attraction to the girl, the oppression of his home life, and I really enjoyed some of the ominous foreshadowing created by certain glimpses into the protagonist's occasionally violent thoughts. But, inexplicably, all that fun stuff stopped... the girl got bitchy, whiny and selfish, and the protagonist went spineless and limp. Not sure what to make of that. Most disappointing was that the bad guy was not even all that bad-- just self-absorbed and remorseless-- not truly BAD. I found myself longing for an Iago-like villain. (At least a little melodrama would have livened up the story. If you can't give me someone to like, please give me someone to hate. Instead all I got was a feeling of pity for everyone.)
I suggest a person read this, if for no other reason, than to get an interesting glimpse at how Nabokov grew as a novelist, and to more deeply appreciate his better works.(less)

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Nov 05, 2011 Jennifer (JC-S) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Jennifer (JC-S) by: Kristine

Shelves: lent-by-friend

‘Once upon a time there lived in Berlin, Germany a man called Albinus. He was rich, respectable, happy; one day he abandoned his wife for the sake of a youthful mistress; he loved; was not loved; and his life ended in disaster.

This is the whole of the story and we might have left it at that had there not been profit and pleasure in the telling; and although there is plenty of space on a gravestone to contain, bound in moss, the abridged version of a man’s life, detail is always welcome. ’

And, as...more

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Aug 27, 2012 Swati rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Nabokov makes a daring move by revealing not only the plot but also the ending within the first paragraph of the novel ("Once upon a time there lived in Berlin, Germany, a man called Albinus. He was rich, respectable, happy; one day he abandoned his wife for the sake of a youthful mistress; he loved; was not loved; and his life ended in disaster."). What is brilliant is that the reader still wants to read the book. However, do not think that the synopsis present in the first paragraph is exactly...more

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Nov 09, 2010 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars

I jumped into the Nabokov world with Lolita, and after I started reading this saw that many critics claim this as the 'foundation' for Lolita. I see the similarity.

Anything I could write about this book is actually written word for word right into the book; and not thinking that I can improve on Nabokov, it is probably best to cite his own words that set the stage for the next 280 or so pages:

Once upon a time there lived in Berlin, Germany, a man called Albinus. He was rich, respectable, happy...more I jumped into the Nabokov world with Lolita, and after I started reading this saw that many critics claim this as the 'foundation' for Lolita. I see the similarity.

Anything I could write about this book is actually written word for word right into the book; and not thinking that I can improve on Nabokov, it is probably best to cite his own words that set the stage for the next 280 or so pages:

Once upon a time there lived in Berlin, Germany, a man called Albinus. He was rich, respectable, happy; one day he abandoned his wife for the sake of a youthful mistress; he loved; was not loved; and his life ended in disaster.

It really quite difficult to put it more succinctly than that. Then, in lines that set the tone for the remaining pages, Nabokov exposes his motivation in putting pen to paper:

This is the whole of the story and we might have left it at that had there not been profit and pleasure in the telling; and although there is plenty of space on a gravestone to contain, bound in moss, the abridged version of a man's life, detail is always welcome.

The only thing I can really add is to explore the other characters not already mentioned; Elizabeth, the elegant yet faint woman whom Albinus promptly leaves; Irma, his daughter who dies shortly after her father leaves her; Margot, the oddly sensual 16 year old girl from a rough background who dreams of the silver stage that proves one temptation too many for our poor Albinus; lastly, Axel Rex (as the commentary suggests, finding a villainous character with two xs in it was certainly amusing) who has a brief fling with Margot, but, through circumstance, finds himself back in her world through Albinus, and continues it while she strings Albinus along.

The last words of the book also provide a perfect ending:

Stage-directions for the last silent scene: door- wide open. Table- thrust away from it. Carpet- bulging up at table foot in a frozen wave. Chair- lying close by dead body of man in purplish brown suit and felt slippers. Automatic pistol not visible. It is under him. Cabinet where the miniatures had been- empty. On the other (small) table, on which ages ago a porcelain ballet-dancer stood (later transferred to another room) lies a woman's glove, black outside, white inside. By the striped sofa stands a smart little trunk, with a colored label still adhering to it: "Rouginard, Hotel Britannia."

The door leading from the hall to the landing is wide open, too.

Fantastic.

(less)

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Nov 16, 2009 Adrian Stumpp rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american, fiction, modern, novels, russian

This is probably the worst Nabokov book I've ever read, which is to say it's one of the best books I've read in months. Essentially, its the story of an illicit love affair, the inevitable destruction of a man who cheated, chose poorly, and ended up dead. But somehow, as with all of Nabokov's novels, it escapes being a morality play or a novel "with a message." The writing is first rate but the plot is utterly unspectacularly, plodding, and predictable until Albinus, the protagonist, goes blind...more

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About Vladimir Nabokov

Russian: Владимир Владимирович Набоков

Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist. He also made significant contributions to lepidoptery and had an interest in chess problems.

Nabokov's Lolita (1955) is frequently cited as his most important novel, and is at any rate his most widely known one, exhibiting the love of intrica...more

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“Once upon a time there lived in Berlin, Germany, a man called Albinus. He was rich, respectable, happy; one day he abandoned his wife for the sake of a youthful mistress; he loved; was not loved; and his life ended in disaster.

This is the whole of the story and we might have left it at that had there not been profit and pleasure in the telling; and although there is plenty of space on a gravestone to contain, bound in moss, the abridged version of a man's life, detail is always welcome.” — 23 people liked it

“A certain man once lost a diamond cuff-link in the wide blue sea, and twenty years later, on the exact day, a Friday apparently, he was eating a large fish - but there was no diamond inside. That’s what I like about coincidence.” — 22 people liked it

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