L'Ouragan Lolita by Vera Nabokov

 It's the first time that a portion of the journal by Vera Nabokov is released in French thanks to L'Editions de L'Herne: the original one is located at the New York Public Library. Called L'Ouragan Lolita

, because of  the years involved, 1958-1959, so the ones of the publication of Lolita in the USA, this entries are part of a perpetual journal written in a little agenda by Vladimir Nabokov and Vera. This journal would have been later, once released Lolita in the United States, updated only by Vera. 

Two persons these ones of Vladimir and Vera very united in their existence.

Vladimir and Vera were afflicted by the same story: the Nabokov, a family pretty rich left Russia because of the Bolshevic Revolution and same did Vera. Both Jews they knew each other during a dancing evening organized for helping Russian refugees in Berlin. They fell immediately in love, and once married they had Dmitry in 1934. Because of the nazis racial laws the family Nabokov left for the USA where they stayed forever. 

Lolita at first was not released in the USA but in Paris, in 1955 thanks to Olympia Press a publishing house specialized in challenging literary titles. The book didn't cause a big echo after all. It was only when appeared in the USA an article released by Graham Greene (who had received a copy of the book) that the attention for Lolita became big, with, later, the decision of releasing the book in the USA. Lolita, so, became a case. The Nabokov were searched by everyone, from journalists to people of Hollywood interested in a movie. 

The Nabokov understood that if the book would have been released in the USA their life would have changed forever but they continued for a while their existence as they did in the past, as you'll read in this journal. 

Vladimir was in love for butterflies and so they spent a lot of time in every possible corner of the USA for capturing them for his big collection. The Nabokov were in love for the USA although they also understood its big contradictions. 

Nabokov at the same time is famous also because for his big work in the translation of Eugenio Onegin. More than 1000 pages for four tomes in total. The book of Eugenio Onegin is  much more little but annotations kept extremely busy the beloved writer.

The big success with Lolita arrived when Nabokov was 59: the Nabokov knew that Vladimir had talent and that one day this one would have been recognized. 

Vera to him has been a wife, a lover, a friend, a secretary, a driver (because Vladimir didn't drive), and whatever you can think. But, she didn't do that for servilism, simply because she was in love for his man and she believed in him.

When the success arrived Nabokov taught at the Cornell University: he took a sabbatic year, but at the end of that, sent to the university a letter of dimission: their life thanks to Lolita was changing.

In the journal you won't just of course find the entries of  their trips across te USA in search of butterflies, but you will also assist at the feast organized at New York for the publication of Lolita, positive reviews arrived from prestigious magazines and newsmagazines, their problems with Canada, where, at first the book was censored, like also was for France, their son's Dmitry and his career as a singer, and much more.

Anna Maria Polidori