A.Sklyarenko (Jan.17): Thanks to Jeff Edmunds, "The Red Flower of Evil in Nabokov's Ada" (the English version) is now available in Zembla:
http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/redflower.doc  A.Sklyarenko (Jan 22) ..."There are skeletiki in Ilya Lvovich Tolstoy's "Мои воспоминания" (My Reminiscences, 1933, chapter VII). Krestik ("little cross," a play on "little crest") is Ada's "tender-turret" word for female genitalia (2.5) ...Van is Lucette's uterine (not "vaginal," as Lucette says) brother.
The abridged English version of Ilya Tolstoy's book is available online: http://www.google.ru/url?q=http://www.free-ebooks.net/ebook/Reminiscences-of-Tolstoy&sa=U&ei=NNE5TY2gJIjN4gauqPHRCg&ved=0CDIQFjAO&usg=AFQjCNFYw1q5fa_4ErDKIGa1u5T2KZJzXg. Alas, the chapter with skeletiki and Adol'fik seems to be absent from it).  I'm a tired (but happy) commentator today.
 
JM: Congs to Alexey for the English version of "The Red Flower of Evil..."now available in Zembla. Today's posting was also most entertaining and informative: he has a just cause to be "a happy commentator!" fluently passing from one literary association to another with no need of equations forming a mnemonic code (and a lot more). 
Why did Nabokov make Lucette describe herself as Van's "vaginal" sister? Is the author indicating thereby a gender-related issue, or is Lucette simply announcing her openness towards Van's trysts and thrusts?   
Search the archive Contact the Editors Visit "Nabokov Online Journal"
Visit Zembla View Nabokv-L Policies Manage subscription options

All private editorial communications, without exception, are read by both co-editors.