Annotations by Alexey Sklyarenko

Describing the beginning of his life-long romance with Ada, Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) says that both he and Ada kept diaries:

In VN's novel Ada (1969) Van and Ada make love for the first time in the Night of the Burning Barn (1.19). There is barn in Barnaul (a city in the south of western Siberia, on the left bank of the Ob River). In VN's play Sobytie ("The Event," 1938) Troshcheykin's wife Lyubov' calls her lover Ryovshin (who loves to poke his nose into other people’s affairs) Sherlok Kholms iz Barnaula ("a Sherlock Holmes from Barnaul"):

At the picnic on her sixteenth birthday Ada (the title character of a novel, 1969, by VN) tells Van that it seems so long, long ago, davnïm davno, since she used to play word-games here with Grace and two other lovely girls:

Although fairly eclectic in 1888, Ladore fashions were not quite as free as taken for granted at Ardis.

Describing the first occasion on which Ada had glimpsed him, Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN's novel Ada, 1969) mentions Bagrov's grandson (a neighbor's boy) and Rose’s purloined lipstick that Marina (Van's, Ada's and Lucette's mother) tossed out k chertyam sobach’im (to hell’s hounds):

In the first version of his letter to Demon Veen (in VN's novel Ada, 1969, Van's and Ada's father) Van says that Captain Tapper, of Wild Violet Lodge (Van's adversary in a pistol duel), may be the chap who was thrown out of one of Demon's gaming clubs for attempting oral intercourse with the washroom attendant, a toothless old cripple, veteran of the first Crimean War:

According to Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969), the novelistic theme of written communications really gets into its stride when he finds an anonymous note in the heart pocket of his dinner jacket:

Showing to Van Ardis Hall, Ada (the title character of a novel, 1969, by VN) mentions a secret passage that leads to a front hall:

Describing one of his last days at Ardis, Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) mentions the remote dreamy rhythm of Blanche’s ‘linen-folding’ voice humming ‘Malbrough’ (...ne sait quand reviendra, ne sait quand reviendra):

Describing the first time he saw Ada, Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) mentions Bagrov’s grandson, a neighbor’s boy, whom he teased and pinched and made horrible fun of, a nice quiet little fellow who quietly massacred moles and anything else with fur on:

Describing the first time he saw Ada, Van Veen (the narrator and main character in VN’s novel Ada, 1969) mentions Bagrov’s grandson, a neighbor’s boy, whom he teased and pinched and made horrible fun of, a nice quiet little fellow who quietly massacred moles and anything else with fur on: