Aran Johnson answers “Do you have to read Lolita before you read...”

Sarah asked this question about Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle:

Do you have to read Lolita before you read this book?

Aran Johnson While it is not necessary to have read any other Nabokov books, I think it IS necessary to have read, at the very least, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. It w…moreWhile it is not necessary to have read any other Nabokov books, I think it IS necessary to have read, at the very least, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. It would also help to have read, or be familiar with Nabokov's views about translations of books, and maybe have read his translation of Pushkin's Eugene Onegin.

I would HIGHLY recommend reading Nabokov's Pale Fire prior to reading Ada. Pale Fire will prepare you for the sometimes intentional confusion about who exactly is telling the story of the book.
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