Ada oder Das Verlangen

"Ada" is a brilliant gem, even in Nabokov's outstanding work. It tells the story of the impossible love between the highly gifted siblings Ada and Van. The narrative is set on the imaginary planet Antiterra, where surprisingly, old Russia and modern America peacefully overlap. The two main characters, who appear fascinating yet aloof and amoral in their intellectual superiority, love only each other and their highly specialized hobbies, such as entomology, botany, psychology, insect studies, Russian literature, or walking on their hands. Along their life paths, they leave behind a trail of emotional devastation, having become unjustly guilty. This book sparkles and provokes on every page, creating a peculiar atmosphere of ecstatic clairvoyance. It is filled with surprising observations.