A review by jenmcmaynes
Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle by Vladimir Nabokov

2.0

A disappointing chore of a book, especially coming after my appreciative re-read of Pale Fire. There were just too many aspects that left me wondering what was the point: the bizarre pseudo-historical mash up, the constant use of Russian and French (without translations in my edition), the constant shifting in tone and style, the chapters long discussions of Time or life on Antiterra. Even taking these stylistic and thematic issues out, the novel’s obsession with sex and female beauty was hard to read (and I even knew going into it that at its heart it was an incestuous love story), not because it was graphic (it wasn’t) but because the sense of white male entitlement was palpable. Basically, Nabokov’s usual wit and style were not enough to elevate this one for me.