Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov)

I read Lolitaby Vladimir Nabokov, when I was young. Maybe too young, I don't remember much about it and I didn't think much about it. So I had a little doubt: was Vladimir Nabokov an apologist for pedophilia, or not?

The answer is no, and this biography by Vera Nabokov proves it in the most beautiful way. He didn't care about nymphets, he only had eyes for his wife.

Summary

The love story between Vera and Vladimir Nabokov is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful of the 20th century. Vera had an unwavering admiration for Vladimir: she considered him a literary genius, knew his texts by heart, fiercely defended him when she felt he was under attack, and worked full time (and probably more) typing texts under his dictation, translating, editing, managing his correspondence, negotiating with his agents, etc. There was nothing in the world she would have preferred to do: living in Vladimir's shadow was her pride and joy.

Vladimir, on the other hand, could not do without Vera. He spent every day with her, and yet his face lit up whenever he saw her coming. He still wrote her love letters even after 40 years of marriage. She was his pride, his best friend, his great love, his right hand. She was incredibly talented, though she would never admit it, and he trusted her in every way.

It is a beautiful love story told by Stacy Schiff, but also the story of a very talented writer who had a huge success especially with a novel about pedophilia.

Impressions

This book is bigger than it looks. I did my best to read it in a week; I read it every day, on the bus, during breakfast, at night before going to bed, but still it took me a few more days.

But I'm glad I rushed through it like that, because it allowed me to immerse myself in the book. And there's something magical about spending a lot of time in a row in a good book: you feel like you're in another world. The author's words tint our view of the world; we think about it during the day; we look forward to it at night. I feel like I know two incredible people intimately that I've never met before. And that's the kind of thing that makes me love life.