A musical with a pedophilic lead is a tricky proposition.
The narrative of “Lolita” depended more on a real-life crime than Nabokov would ever admit.
‘The Zhivago Affair’ recounts a complex and nuanced tale of author Boris Pasternak. The Soviets considered his epic novel a betrayal — but plenty of Jews felt the same way.
One of the greatest writers of the 20th Century, Vladimir Nabokov, author of ‘Lolita’ and ‘Pale Fire’ had a rich history with the Jewish people.
Not long before Dmitri Nabokov’s death, Maxim D. Shrayer interviewed Vladimir Nabokov’s son about his father’s attitude toward Jews and anti-Semitism.
It’s hard to imagine Vladimir Nabokov as a commercial failure. Yet that was precisely what happened with his second English-language work, the nightmarish and satirical dystopian novel “Bend Sinister,” which celebrates its 65th anniversary today. Originally titled “The Person from Porlock,” then “Game to Gunm[etal]” and later “Solus Rex,” “Bend Sinister” was Nabokov’s first novel composed in the United States, and was published by Henry Holt and Company. But it received only lackluster promotional treatment after the departure of Allen Tate, the only staff member at Henry Holt who admired the book.