Original published under the name 'Camera Obscura', Vladimir Nabokov was so displeased with the quality of it's first English translation in 1936 he personally took to changing it under the now title 'Laughter in the Dark' and this becomes the first foreign novel I have read that was actually translated by the writer himself.

And If there's one thing that strikes me about Nabokov, it's the impression I get that his mind was never too far away from lust and desire, whether that be writing, having a stiff drink or going to fetch the morning paper. Dealing with similar themes although to a different developed effect with that of his 1955 masterpiece 'Lolita', Laughter in the Dark takes place mainly in Berlin and centres on seemingly happily married art critic Albinus, who after visiting a cinema catches sight of young aspiring actress Margot, who works there. He can't shake the thought of her from his mind and returns, eventually seducing her, and takes her as his mistress. After Elisabeth the wife of Albinus discovers his entanglement with Margot she takes their daughter Irma and leaves, opening the door for the couple to evolve. However to help with her dreams of hitting the big screen, Margot hatches a plan with former lover Axel Rex to deceive him while on a trip to France, with terrible consequences.

This is ultimately a tragically comic love story, although I found it far more tragic than funny, his daughter Irma would fall seriously ill and Albinus has lingering thoughts of trying to rekindle his dying marriage, but Margot turns into a nympho to fulfil his sexual appetite and wants him to get a divorce. The middle third of the novel takes on quite a sad feel and left a lump in my throat. The actions of Albinus at times seem farcical, while Margot takes to playing a sort of femme fatale with her manipulating mannerisms.
Nabokov's narrative has the most precise pacing, and is decisive, witty but with a slightly morbid
sensibility. Would have loved to see the characters and story developed even further as they were just so readable. I simply craved for more!. Anyway, a fabulous novel, one of his very best.

I have heard this novel called "a light work" and "a rehearsal for Lolita." This is all true (the story is about a wealthy married man with a teenaged mistress who cuckolds him with a diabolical artist) but Nabokov's attempt at writing in a popular style—this reads like a genre novel that could be a study for a film—is anything but generic or lightweight. Where the book shines is in its creation of appalling, cruel, foolish, and absurd characters, putting them together with inevitable tragicomic results; it reads, in fact, like the best farces by Feydeau, Balzac, or Moliere.

One thing about Nabokov's writing is that it never descends into poshlost, a Russian word which describes work that is vulgar, crass, banal, pompous, sanctimonious, self-serving, tasteless, corny, sentimental, etc. So even if the story, as in this case, relies on certain clichés of genre novels, Nabokov never lets the reader fall into an abyss. He leads you in a dance where he jokes with you and pretends he is going to step on your feet, but in the end he sweeps you across the floor with grace, assurance, and elegance.

And it's not the case that the style of this book is popular because Nabokov only later learned to write in a more complex fashion; some of his earliest stories were quite complex. I think it's more that he was highly competitive (he was a chess master after all), and he wanted to outdo the others by writing a better, more sensational, more interesting and entertaining popular novel than anyone else. Bravo, Vladimir, you succeeded.

به مثابه بیت آنکه کو دور ماند از اصل خویش....
مدتی در کار خواندنم وقفه افتاد فکر نمی‌کردم که حالا حالاها به آغوش این یار دلفریب بازگردم.
 "چه دانستم که این سودا مرا زین‌سان کند مجنون "
" دلم را دوزخی سازد  دو چشمم  را   کند  جیحون "
و در این هنگامه ناگهان خنده‌ای در تاریکی ظهور کرد!
و من نتوانستم...
اما درباره کتاب:
پاراگراف اول کتاب تکان‌دهنده است چراکه کل داستان را لو می‌دهد.
اما ناباکوف کاری می‌کند کارستان!
با اینکه خواننده آغاز و اَنجام قهرمان که چه عرض کنم نقش اول قصه را می‌داند ولی او کاری می‌کند که شما میخکوب فضا و اتمسفر کتاب شوید.
افول یک انسان چه سریع اتفاق می‌افتد...خیانت واژه‌ای منفور و متعفن محوریت ماجرا را شکل می‌دهد.
برای سقوط یک لحظه و یک اشتباه کوچک کافیست تا دودمان انسان را به باد دهد.
آبرو، حیثیت و شرافت انسان بسته به تار مویی است
مارگو، رکس، آلبینوس سه شخصیت محوری داستان بار یک مثلث عشقی هوس‌آلود و بیمارگونه را به دوش می‌کشند
داستان حکایت مردیست که در منجلاب تباهی فرو می‌رود و سرانجامی تلخ دارد.
اما طنز عمیق و زبان و بیان زیبای ناباکوف از تلخی اثر می‌کاهد و آن را در ردیف کتابی‌های ماندگار قرار می‌دهد.

The book gains momentum as you read; as you reach its end you do not want to put it down, not for a single second. It’s creepy. It’s suspenseful. It is not what I was expecting from a Nabokov novel.

We have here a story about a middle-aged, wealthy, married and happy man. He is an art critic living in Berlin. It is between the wars. In a dark movie theater, he meets up with a seventeen-year-old. It is she who shows him to his seat. He is attracted to her. He becomes infatuated with her. She is by no means guiltless. It turns out that it is she who is seducing him! Watch and see what happens.

The quality of a book lies in the writing. This book deserves four stars due to its prose. It is the writing in this book that makes it exciting.

Luke Daniels narrates the audiobook. It’s good, but nothing special. I had to listen very carefully to make sure I heard exactly who was doing what. The narration I have given three stars.

Nabokov was picky about the translation of his books. This I appreciate. Not liking the book's first English translation by Winifred Roy (with the title Camera Obscura), he translated it again, this time himself. His translation was given the title Laughter in the Dark.

I recommend this book to those looking for a short, exciting read.

I haven’t told you a whole lot. You shouldn’ t be told a whole lot because this will wreck the suspense.

***************
*Lolita 5 stars
*Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle 5 stars
*Speak, Memory 5 stars
*Glory 4 stars
*Mary 4 stars
*Laughter in the Dark 4 stars
*The Gift 3 stars
*Pale Fire 2 stars
*Pnin 1 star
*Despair 1 star

*Transparent Things TBR
*King, Queen, Knave TBR
*The Real Life of Sebastian Knight TBR

من لولیتا رو نخوندم ، فیلمی رو کوبریک ساخته از رمان نابوکوف رو دیدم . بعد از دیدن فیلم ، حس کردم نویسنده ش باید یه منحرف ج��سی باشه . راستش هیچ وقت برام جذابیت چندانی نداشت . یه جورایی نوشته هاش به درد نشریه های زرد و خاله زنکی می خوره . به نظرم از عمق خالی هست و فقط تابوشکنیه که باعث شده تا این حد معروف و محبوب باشه . به هر حال خنده در تاریکی یه نسخه ی کپی خیلی کمرنگ از لولیتاست . یعنی اگر پیش از لولیتا نوشته می شد ، می شد گفت ، این اوج نوشتن نویسنده بوده . ولی چون بعد از لولیتاس می شه حدس زد برای نویسنده فقط یه بهانه واسه درآمد بوده . حتی کارای مارکی دوساد دارای معنا و مفهوم و عمق بیشترینسبت به این کار هست . شایدم من خیلی اُمٌُلم!

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 .

That way Nabokov starts Laughter in the dark and in fact these words are enough to describe the plot. Outwardly it is a banal tale of tragicomic romance of older man with young girl. There are loads such stories but this one stands out with acerbity and witticism. Nabokov is brilliantly ironical and pungent and whole story full of sardonic humour.

Laughter in the dark. Indeed. After reading you may only applaud how apt the title is. Though when you're reading how blinded by passion fool changes into the fooled blind laughter gradually sticks in your throat.

صفحه 139
لمپرت فکر کرد: موجود زیبایی است، در این حرفی نیست، اما در او چیزی هست که آدم را به یاد مار می اندازد

I am amazed at how absorbing, effortless, and enjoyable this novel is, while also being very quirky and challenging of one's expectations. We meet Albinus, a middle aged, highly respectable and aristocratic art critic; and Margot, a 16 year old who has escaped an abusive family by making herself the mistress of wealthy men. Albinus dearly loves his wife and daughter, but fantasizes about having out of marriage sex. He does this is merely a wishful way; but when Margot sees that she can take advantage of him, it takes only one aggressive first step from her end to set the dominos falling, which had been set up by Albinus's fantasies. In just a hand's count of days, Albinus suddenly finds himself separated from his family and living with Margot.

This shows how wishful thinking and fantasizing can be dangerous and bleed into reality without one's notice or intent. Moreover, Albinus can only take the steps he does when he is possessed by desire for Margot; this shows how when under especially strong moods, just a few actions can lead to an upheaval of even the most foundational parts of one's life (like of one's closest relations).

Margot and her ex-lover Rex conspire to manipulate Albinus and get as much money as they can out of him. Albinus amazingly remains unaware of their schemes. It is his attraction to beauty that allows him to perceive Margot as not merely physically or sexually attractive but rather as amounting to beauty of her entire being. Then, his valuing of beauty fuels his dreams and fantasies, which sculpt his perception and blindsight him to Margot's and Rex's nefarious activities. Very soon, he can no longer perceive his wife and child, all the previous commitments that had defined and sustained him, as substantial or meaningful. Albinus has become a wholly other person; and while he believes he is pursuing beauty, in fact Margot and Rex are creating that mirage and exploiting him.

Nabokov's writing is lush, sensuous, and hilarious. Descriptions are fresh and impactful; the characters are so vivid that I found myself yelling in fear for their well-being or in astonishment at what evil they are capable of (I usually do not do this when I read). I'll now be onto another Nabokov novel!

*To add thoughts, half a year after having read this novel -- this story continues to haunt me. The most striking point of the book from my experience is that it shows how when we start fantasizing, desiring for something that we believe is unattainable, it is very possible for this to unfold and influence our lives nevertheless. Fantasies can grow over long periods of time, strengthening all the while, and sometimes it just takes one accidental real-life event as a sufficient trigger for the fantasy to show up in reality, often in ways that make us realize that this fantasy ought never to belong in reality, that it is not as pleasant as it is in the imagination. It is amazing how much explanatory power this psychological dynamic has for our diverse experiences. We set ourselves up and should be taken as responsible for this. We can be more careful about how and what we fantasize.

ناباکوف نویسنده فوق العاده ایه. همه کتابهاش رو دوست دوست داشتم. جادوی ناباکوف در این کتاب روایت خیانت و خباثت در شکل طنز به شکلی ماهرانه است و در آخر برانگیختن حس ترحم نسبت به شخصیت اصلی داستان (کسی که به نظر میرسه دچار عذاب اعمال خودش شده)

Curiously enough, the first works of Nabokov I read were not fiction but rather literary criticism. I quite enjoyed reading his views on writing and literature. Predictably, it was not before long that I wanted to read his novels as well. I picked up this book years ago and figured it could be a good introduction to Nabokov. To be frank, I just didn’t want to start with Lolita. I wanted something less emotionally exhausting to start Nabokov with. I was also afraid that I won’t be able to finish Lolita or that it might put me off Nabokov. So, I opted for Laughter in the Dark. There are some similarities between these two novels. Take the protagonists for instance: once again there is an age difference between lovers. There is a girl and an older man, but at least the girl in question is not a minor. The femme fatale of this book is a femme, not an adolescent girl. Young, but not underage. Not a child, although she seems to be able to play that role to get what she wants.

What is interesting about this novel is that Nabokov literally reveals the plot right away. In the opening lines Nabokov reveals the basic storyline and yet it doesn't make this novel any less interesting. I have to admit that these opening lines attracted me immediately:

“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. This is the whole of the story and we might have left it at that had there not been profit and pleasure in the telling; and although there is plenty of space on a gravestone to contain, bound in moss, the abridged version of a man's life, detail is always welcome.”

Details make all the difference, don’t they? Despite the fact that the book reveals both the atmosphere and the plot immediately, it kept my interest from start to finish. Both protagonists are hard to love, but easy to sympathize with. Albinus is a naïve intellectual and his young mistress is cruel and basic. Margot is manipulative, but in an instinctive not a cunning way. Nevertheless, reading about them was very interesting. I suppose it is because they are so human. Margot isn’t the smartest cookie, but she knows how to get what she wants. Albinus is (as the opening lines reveal) someone who loves but isn’t loved in returned- hence he plays the fool.
“[...] leaving for a day or two that hopeless sense of loss which makes beauty what it is: a distant lone tree against golden heavens; ripples of light on the inner curve of a bridge; a thing impossible to capture.”

I said that I liked how human the protagonists are. That goes for all the characters in the novel. There are no so embellishments in this book, not when it comes to society and human beings. They’re all stripped naked- in the sense that the writer lets you glance into their souls and dig below the surface. Intellectuals and artists- both are sometimes driven by their instincts. Sometimes everything comes down to biology. Instincts, desires, and human urges. Human beings are not always as sophisticated as we would like to believe. We mix impulses with love, gratitude with genuine connection. We fall victims to our desires- over and over again.


Laughter in the Dark really is a wonderful novel. I would say it is a successful book chiefly because of Nabokov’s masterful writing. Nabokov prose flows with ease, and his writing is both elegant and easy to follow. Like I already mentioned, as far as the plot goes there is nothing new, everything is revealed at start, and yet Nabokov makes "seen a hundred times story" into something rather fascinating. The characters are poor excuses for human beings most of the time, but it not hard to sympathize with them in spite of that or maybe because of that.
Once Albinus leaves his wife for Margot, they live in a somewhat stable relationship. Margot is tempted to cheat but doesn’t want to lose the financial stability she has with Albert. Margot doesn’t want (and probably can’t have children). Albinus does not mind. But how long can their happiness last? At the begging of the novel Albinus is a respected but bored to death man, and in a way Margot saves him from his ‘predictable’ life. However, once Albinus is with Margot he might not be bored, but he doesn’t stop being boring. Margot, an abused child that has grown into a selfish woman is obviously bored in her new relationship. Perhaps predictably, soon another character enters the picture and a triangle is formed. Albinus, a boring intellectual, Margot a young cruel mistress and Rex sadistic artist- quite a love triangle they make. What will happen with the man who loved but wasn’t loved in return?

One question remains to haunt me: did Albinus really love Margot? What do you think?

A cyanide comedy. Nabokov scorns "realism," which befuddles many readers who belch that his characters aren't "likeable." How Americans require the likeability factor ! ~ Who's likeable in works by George Etherege or Joe Orton ? C'mon, we're in a world of surrealism and absurdist humor where the tale is meant to be ironic, rueful, mocking.

This stinging and hilarious story of cuckoldry and duplicity -- where the protagonist sees nothing (like most people) -- was first published abroad in 1933 while US readers devoured Lloyd C Douglas, Edna Ferber, A J Cronin, Pearl Buck, Booth Tarkington and James Hilton. It's an edgy exhibit of jealousy and selfish behavior in which Nabokov impales his blinded characters with a deadly smile.

It begins in Berlin with a borrowing fr "The Blue Angel" : an older chap-a married art scholar and a dullard-swoons over a teenage (adorable-slutty) usherette in a movie house. He gives up his family and his heart for her. Then it shifts into randy comedy as she has the scholar supporting her and a beau who suggests he's gay. Thine host is ready to believe anything.

The scholarly Albinus is good-looking, Nabokov reports, though "his mild blue eyes bulged a little when he was thinking hard," and, since he has a slowish mind, this happens often. Before marriage he knew a few dreary women, including one who always talked about her past in great detail and concluded with "C'est la vie." The Cupid serving him, author stresses, had "a weak chin and no imagination."

At the movies, which play a key role herein, he meets teenie Margot, who likes to gnaw on a dry roll after sex. She wants to get into movies and be a Dietrich-star like Dorianna Karenina. He finances a pic. In a devastating scene, at a preview, Margot sees how awful she is onscreen. Sobs, moans, hysterics. "I'm prepared to do anything to make my darling happy," he says.

Enter Axel Rex, a virile scamp up to no good, Margot's exlover...they keep Albinus stuffed w sleeping pills. After a car accident, in which Albinus is blinded, literally, the dangerous games begin. The last pages, which surely inspired Muriel Spark, end with murder. In this case, a happy ending.

It's a gem.

In 60,000 words Nabokov reveals more about the world than other writers who reach 600,000 words. Critics find Albinus and Axel Rex two sides of Nabokov, who collides sexual pathology with self-knowledge -- or should I say self-illumination ?

Как водится выпуклый текст и довольно неприятный сюжет; читать это местами утомительно и неловко, но, разумеется, стоит того.