Vera

Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Woman Behind the Man
Review: "Vera was a pale blonde when I met her, but it didn't take me long to turn her hair white."

The above was taken from one of Nabokov's own journal entries and, although it may seem humorous, it is no doubt true. Pulitzer-Prize winner, Stacy Schiff, suggests, even in the title of her book, that Véra Nabokov was a woman who was only capable of being known as Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov. Her relationship with her famed husband, no matter what its course, was the defining factor of her life. And Véra would have it no other way.

Véra Nabokov has been described as Vladimir Nabokov's "disciple, bodyguard, secretary-protector, handmaiden, buffer, quotation-finder, groupie, advance man, nursemaid and courtier." She is, not unjustly, celebrated as being the ultimate Woman Behind the Man.

Véra graduated from the Sorbonne as a master of modern languages, but, sadly, she did not keep copies of her own work as she did her husband's. In fact, she probably would have denied that her own work was worth keeping, although everything leads us to believe otherwise.

In addition to transcribing, typing and smoothing Valdimir's prose while it was still "warm and wet," Véra cut book pages, played chauffeur, translated, negotiated contracts and did the many practical things her famous husband disdained. This remarkable woman even made sure that the butterflies he collected died with the least amount of suffering.

A precocious child who read her first newspaper at the age of three, Véra was born into a middle-class Jewish family at the beginning of the twentieth-century in Czarist St. Petersburg. In 1921, with the advance of communism, her family settled in Berlin. It was there that she met the dapper and non-Jewish Vladimir. Their marriage would last fifty-two years and be described as an intensely symbiotic coupling.

Although Vladimir traveled and conducted several affairs, Véra supported him throughout, struggling to raise their son amidst the Nazism that was beginning to fester in Berlin. Blaming herself for her husband's infidelity, Véra managed to rejuvenate her marriage and the couple moved again--this time to New York City--where Véra typed Valdimir's manuscripts in bed while recovering from pneumonia. Forever believing in her husband's creative instincts, Véra stood by his art even when debt threatened to overtake them. It was she who intervened on the several occasions when Vladimir attempted to burn his manuscript of Lolita.

Véra Nabokov's tombstone bears the epithet, "Wife, Muse and Agent," and Nabokov knew the immensity of the debt he owed her. Late in life, he even refused to capture a rare butterfly he encountered in a mountain park for the sole reason that Véra was no longer at his side. Like her husband, Véra had highly developed aesthetic tastes and the two enjoyed a "tender telepathy." Often described as "synesthetes," the couple would have debates about "the color of Monday, the taste of E-flat." It is certainly without exaggeration that Nabokov wrote to Véra, "I need you, my fairy tale. For you are the only person I can talk to--about the hue of a cloud, about the singing of a thought, and about the fact that when I went out to work today and looked at each sunflower in the face, they all smiled back at me with their seeds."

Although many feel the Véra should have been encouraged to develop her own considerable talents, it can be argued that she did, and that her greatest talent was that of wife and helpmate. It is certainly one she choose freely and without rancor. The fact that her husband was fortunate, indeed, cannot be denied.

Véra is a book rich in detail, analysis and affection. Like all couples and all marriages, the Nabokovs were unique and they were special. To know one, was to glimpse the other, for with the passing of years, neither was wholly himself or herself. There are those who might not have understood Véra Nabokov's choices and might not have agreed with them, but they are the ones who have never known the ecstasy of a truly close relationship. Véra Nabokov was a most fascinating woman, one that made her own choices in life and lived them most happily. We can only admire her greatly.

Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Woman Behind the Man
Review: "Vera was a pale blonde when I met her, but it didn't take me long to turn her hair white."

The above was taken from one of Nabokov's own journal entries and, although it may seem humorous, it is no doubt true. Pulitzer-Prize winner, Stacy Schiff, suggests, even in the title of her book, that Véra Nabokov was a woman who was only capable of being known as Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov. Her relationship with her famed husband, no matter what its course, was the defining factor of her life. And Véra would have it no other way.

Véra Nabokov has been described as Vladimir Nabokov's "disciple, bodyguard, secretary-protector, handmaiden, buffer, quotation-finder, groupie, advance man, nursemaid and courtier." She is, not unjustly, celebrated as being the ultimate Woman Behind the Man.

Véra graduated from the Sorbonne as a master of modern languages, but, sadly, she did not keep copies of her own work as she did her husband's. In fact, she probably would have denied that her own work was worth keeping, although everything leads us to believe otherwise.

In addition to transcribing, typing and smoothing Valdimir's prose while it was still "warm and wet," Véra cut book pages, played chauffeur, translated, negotiated contracts and did the many practical things her famous husband disdained. This remarkable woman even made sure that the butterflies he collected died with the least amount of suffering.

A precocious child who read her first newspaper at the age of three, Véra was born into a middle-class Jewish family at the beginning of the twentieth-century in Czarist St. Petersburg. In 1921, with the advance of communism, her family settled in Berlin. It was there that she met the dapper and non-Jewish Vladimir. Their marriage would last fifty-two years and be described as an intensely symbiotic coupling.

Although Vladimir traveled and conducted several affairs, Véra supported him throughout, struggling to raise their son amidst the Nazism that was beginning to fester in Berlin. Blaming herself for her husband's infidelity, Véra managed to rejuvenate her marriage and the couple moved again--this time to New York City--where Véra typed Valdimir's manuscripts in bed while recovering from pneumonia. Forever believing in her husband's creative instincts, Véra stood by his art even when debt threatened to overtake them. It was she who intervened on the several occasions when Vladimir attempted to burn his manuscript of Lolita.

Véra Nabokov's tombstone bears the epithet, "Wife, Muse and Agent," and Nabokov knew the immensity of the debt he owed her. Late in life, he even refused to capture a rare butterfly he encountered in a mountain park for the sole reason that Véra was no longer at his side. Like her husband, Véra had highly developed aesthetic tastes and the two enjoyed a "tender telepathy." Often described as "synesthetes," the couple would have debates about "the color of Monday, the taste of E-flat." It is certainly without exaggeration that Nabokov wrote to Véra, "I need you, my fairy tale. For you are the only person I can talk to--about the hue of a cloud, about the singing of a thought, and about the fact that when I went out to work today and looked at each sunflower in the face, they all smiled back at me with their seeds."

Although many feel the Véra should have been encouraged to develop her own considerable talents, it can be argued that she did, and that her greatest talent was that of wife and helpmate. It is certainly one she choose freely and without rancor. The fact that her husband was fortunate, indeed, cannot be denied.

Véra is a book rich in detail, analysis and affection. Like all couples and all marriages, the Nabokovs were unique and they were special. To know one, was to glimpse the other, for with the passing of years, neither was wholly himself or herself. There are those who might not have understood Véra Nabokov's choices and might not have agreed with them, but they are the ones who have never known the ecstasy of a truly close relationship. Véra Nabokov was a most fascinating woman, one that made her own choices in life and lived them most happily. We can only admire her greatly.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best biographies I've ever read
Review: A fascinating book, beautifully written, filled with the kind of insights that make you marvel, "How did the author know this? How did she find this out?" There is wit here, delicious details, and great sympathy for a woman who was not always likeable but always intriguing. An important subject doesn't always make a great read, but here, truly, it does.

Rating:
Summary: Stacy Schiff allows readers to feel the "essence" of Vera N
Review: A true gem. It gave me insight into the life of Vera andNabakov. Now I will have to re-read his works. Thank you Stacy!!!!

Rating:
Summary: The talented woman in the background
Review: Although I would advise a Nabokov fan to read "Speak Memory" and Brian Boyd's biography first, I definitely recommend this biography of the devoted Véra. She was an extremely strong-willed and talented woman. The fact that she didn't try to become an author in her own right and even downplayed her contributions to Vladimir's work will baffle some readers. These same readers (especially females), many of whom believe the secret to happiness is in "self-expression," will decide that Véra paid an exorbitant price for her very happy marriage.

A quibble: most of this book is about Véra and Vladimir after 1940. One of the many interesting things about Nabokov was that he had been a leading Russian émigré writer years before he arrived in America (with Véra's help, of course). And this part of the story is not developed as fully as the years after the Nabokovs arrived in America. Perhaps this book, and the many Nabokov biographies, will have be re-written some day by an author who moves as easily through the Russian and English languages as Nabokov did himself.

Rating:
Summary: Tells how but not why
Review: Although this book is filled with details about Vera's identity merger with Nabokov, it never explained WHY she did this. I can see how it would interest Nabokov fans, but can't rate it high as a biography of Vera.

Rating:
Summary: A stunning look into the intricacies of marriage
Review: Even without the Pulitzer Prize, which this book won for Biography, Schiff's scrupulously written paean to marriage--well, to one complex marriage in particular--would stand out as an extraordinary achievement. Including vivid writing that reminds one of the best fiction, and strong research that follows the trajectory of two strong-willed "characters," Vera and Vladimir, this is a work of Richard Ellmann-like quality, and it will be remembered.

Rating:
Summary: Marriage and Nabokov in one brilliant volume
Review: I admit to having found this book by accident, but from the moment I opened it I was carried away by its intelligence, wit and humanity. It has sent me directly back to the work of Nabokov -- and to Schiff's earlier book.

Rating:
Summary: A must read for all Nabokov fans
Review: I agree with all the praise given by my fellow amazon readers -- you learn as much about Nabokov by reading about his wife as you do by reading about him (which you can do in his excellent autobiographical novel Speak, Memory). My only small quibble is that the first half was a tad slow moving -- things definitely picked up once they arrived in the United States, especially the Cornell years. Having just read this book back to back with Nora (the biography of James Joyce's wife), I have to admit that as much as I enjoyed this book, I found Nora more gripping overall. Still, I would encourage anyone who loves Nabokov to read this book, even if you have to skip some of the denser parts. Hats off to Schiff who certainly did her research and presents everything you could ever want to know about Nabokov but were afraid to ask.

Rating:
Summary: Tells how but not why
Review: I guess that I am a little behind the times on this one, but I just found out today that the author won the Pulitzer for this book. I can't agree more. I felt that she captured the essence of Vera and although it is abundantly clear that Vera was Nabakov's biggest fan and defender, I think that the author does a good job of showing the strength of Vera as her own woman, in her own right. Excellent biography.