Ada, or Otrada. Nabokov V.V.

“Ada, or Otrada” (1969) - the top achievement of Vladimir Nabokov (1899 - 1977), the largest and most significant of his novels, which reflected the half -century literary and scientific experience of the bilingual writer. Written in the form of a family chronicle, covering one and a half centuries and a long row of characters, it is, perhaps, the most unusual love story from once outlined in any language. “The tragic separation, reckless dates and the delightful ending of the tenth decade” of the cosmopolitan existence of the two main characters, Van and Ada, flow against the background of epoch -making events taking place on a distant anti -terra, gradually acquiring earthly features, refracted by the magical crystal of the writer. The novel is published in a new translation prepared by Andrei Babikov, with the comments of the translator.