A.S: Among the characters of LATH is the poet Audace, an American version of Hodasevich. Audace is one of the guests at the party given by the Kings:[ ] "You know I met little Iris Black in London...[ ] Ivor Black's sister, Iris Black is the first wife of Vadim Vadimovich, the narrator and main harlequin in LATH. Iris means "the contractile, circular diaphragm forming the colored portion of the eye and containing a circular opening, the pupil, in its center."

Jansy Mello: I hope you follow on your thread, taking up "LATH" with the VN-L. I hope I'll finally manage to appreciate this novel, one so many people I know admire. In English you find the word "iridescent" but, as in English or in French, the rainbow shines mainly through its arc shape. In Portuguese we mostly call it "Arco Iris," valuing both its curving ribbon (or strip) and its prismatic colors. Surprisingly, in the wikipedia I read that the "first recorded use of iris as a color name in English was in the year 1916.* and that it remains an ambiguous color term, usually referring to shades ranging from blue-violet to violet.However, in certain applications, it has been applied to an even wider array of colors, including pale blue, mauve, pink, and even yellow (the color of the inner part of the iris flower). The name is derived from the iris flower, which comes in a broad spectrum of colors."[ ] The word iridescence is derived in part from the Greek word ἶρις îris, meaning rainbow, which in turn derives from the goddess Iris of Greek mythology, who is the personification of the rainbow and acted as a messenger of the gods."