Laughter in the Dark"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." Thus begins Vladimir Nabokov's Laughter in the Dark; this, the author tells us, is the whole story--except that he starts from here, with his characteristic dazzling skill and irony, and brilliantly turns a fable into a chilling, original novel of folly and destruction. Amidst a Weimar-era milieu of silent film stars, artists, and aspirants, Nabokov creates a merciless masterpiece as Albinus, an aging critic, falls prey to his own desires, to his teenage mistress, and to Axel Rex, the scheming rival for her affections who finds his greatest joy in the downfall of others. Published first in Russian as Kamera Obskura in 1932, this book appeared in Nabokov's own English translation six years later. This New Directions edition, based on the text as Nabokov revised it in 1960, features a new introduction by Booker Prize-winner John Banville. |
Contents
Section 1 | 7 |
Section 2 | 83 |
Section 3 | 101 |
Section 4 | 108 |
Section 5 | 177 |
Section 6 | 186 |
Section 7 | 196 |
Section 8 | 219 |
Section 9 | 232 |
Common terms and phrases
afraid Albert ancholy arms Arthur Rimbaud artist asked Albinus began Berlin Bernadette Mayer binus blind blue cheek color Conrad corner dachshund dark darling daughter door Dorianna Elisabeth everything eyes Ezra Pound face faint felt film flat Frau Levandovsky Fräulein front funny gazed girl glass Greta Garbo hair hand head heard Heinrich von Kleist Herr Irma Irma's JOHN BANVILLE kiss knew Lampert laughed light lips lived Lolita looked mail plane Margot matter mirror morning Muriel Spark Nabokov never night Nikolai Gogol once opened Otto pale Paul picture Rex's Rouginard Schiffermiller seated seemed Selected Poems shoulders side silent sitting smiled softly sound stood stopped street suddenly talk taxi tell thing thought Albinus told took touch tried VLADIMIR NABOKOV voice walked What's whispered wife window woman