Laughter in the Dark

by Vladimir Nabokov

Overview

Irresistibly ironic, this chilling novel of folly and destruction is about a January to May romance between a sensitive, middle-aged man and a cretinous girl half his age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780679724506
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	12/17/1989
Series:	Vintage International
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.98(h) x 0.64(d)

About the Author

Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977), one of the 20th century's greatest writers in both Russian and English, was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and spent his adult life in Germany, France, the United States, and Switzerland. In addition to his literary work, he was a passionate lepidopterist and chess player. His books include Lolita, Pale Fire, The Real Light of Sebastian Knight, Laughter in the Dark, and many more.

John Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1945. He is the author of fourteen novels including The Book of Evidence, which was shortlisted for the 1989 Booker Prize. He lives in Dublin.

Date of Birth:

April 23, 1899

Date of Death:

July 2, 1977

Place of Birth:

St. Petersburg, Russia

Place of Death:

Montreux, Switzerland

Education:

Trinity College, Cambridge, 1922

Editorial Reviews

"Nabokov writes prose the only way it should be written that is, a ecstatically." —John Updike

From the Publisher

Published in Russian in 1932, the novel was translated into English by Nabokov himself in 1938. This edition, however, is based on the author's revised 1960 text. Nabokov again offers one of his sad, silly sots in the character of Albinus, an aging critic who abandons his faithful wife for a teenage mistress also involved with a younger man who takes joy in Albinus's destruction. Cheerful it's not. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

"Nabokov writes prose the only way it should be written—that is, ecstatically."

John Updike