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Laughter in the Dark (Penguin Modern Classics)
 
 
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Laughter in the Dark (Penguin Modern Classics) (Paperback)

by Vladimir Nabokov (Author) "Once upon a time there lived in Berlin, Germany, a man called Albinus ..." (more)
4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Laughter in the Dark (Penguin Modern Classics) + Despair (Penguin Modern Classics) + Collected Stories (Penguin Modern Classics)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 208 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics; New Ed edition (25 Oct 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0141186526
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141186528
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.2 x 1.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 24,148 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #8 in  Books > Fiction > Cult Authors > Nabokov
    #8 in  Books > Fiction > 20th Century Classics > Nabokov, Vladimir
    #87 in  Books > Fiction > World > American > Classics

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Product Description

Product Description
In Berlin there lived a man called Albinus. He was rich, respectable and happy but one day he abandoned his wife for the sake of a youthful mistress he loved. He was not loved in return, however, and his life ended in disaster. The original Russian text of this novel was published in 1933.

About the Author
Vladimir Nabokov was born in St Petersburg in 1899, but he left Russia when the Bolsheviks seized power. His family moved to England for a brief spell and finally settled in Berlin. His first novel in English was The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, published in 1941. His other books include Ada, Laughter in the Dark, Details of a Sunset and Lolita, his best-known novel. Nabokov died in Montreux, Switzerland in 1977.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
Once upon a time there lived in Berlin, Germany, a man called Albinus. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Vladimir Nabokov - Laughter in the Dark, 13 Jan 2009
By RachelWalker "RachelW" (England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   
When I read in the afterword that Nabokov once claimed this his "worst novel", I was amazed. I admit I've only read Pale Fire and Lolita (both superb, the first a fab intellectual piece of fictonal ambiguous jigsaw-puzzling, the second just flat-out superb), but this I enjoyed just as much. It's certainly doesn't strike one as being quite as zestily written as Lolita, or as devilish as Pale Fire, it is certainly a fine novel. I can only say this: Nabokov's worst novel stands head and shoulders above many other novelist's best. Laughter in the Dark is a clever, sprly written (Nabokov's sentences are, even if not the finest he would come to write, still remarkable, and sparkle with pixie-like intelligence) novel of one man's destruction at the hands of a young female mistress. It's melodramatic to say it, but the novel is worth reading almost for it's first paragraph alone.

It's sometimes funny, sometimes tragic, sometimes shocking, and there are certain bits which make you loath certain characters. There are times when it's chattery like a movie, times (the remarkable final scene), when it's the sightless equivalent of a silent film. I loved every page. It reads quickly, and he packs a lot into a very small space. He might have thought it his least accomplished novel, but it's also the most accesible of his I've read so far, and an ideal starting place. He's one of the centuries very finest writers, no question.
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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not great, 27 Jul 2004
By Depressaholic (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Laughter in the Dark (Paperback)
This was the first Nabokov that I have read, and there was certainly enough here to make me interested in reading more. That said, I found this book strangely unsatisfying. I came to it because Joseph Heller frequently cited its style as being very influential in the writing of 'Catch-22'. This perhaps gave me lofty expectations, and I could see the connections, but I couldn't in really bracket the two together. What they do share, is very black humour running through what are, ultimately, unpleasant events.
The story centres round a middle-aged man (Albinus) who falls for the coquettish charms of Margot, an ambitious child/woman who strings him along in order to squeeze cash and career opportunities out of their liaison. Albinus convinces himself that she loves him, a belief which causes his life to disintegrate around him. Margot turns out to be a pretty nasty piece of work, but his fascination has no limits, and the Albinus we see by the end of the book is a hideous, unrecognisable creature compared to the respectable gent we see at the start. 'Laughter...' contains all the themes that would later be incorporated into 'Lolita', so this can perhaps be seen as the prototype for that book.
Although I did enjoy it, and would recommend it as a reasonably quick and not too involved read, the tone of the book made it difficult for me to get into. The jaunty humour coupled with the dark events contributed to a slightly unreal, cartoonish feeling. This is reinforced by a fairly simplistic writing style. Perhaps this is part of the point, to confuse the reader's reaction to important events by making them seem somehow inconsequential or silly. The title of the book itself suggests this contrast. I was definitely sufficiently intrigued to want to read more of Nabokov's books, but I'm hoping that this one isn't his best.
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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A gem: not one wasted word, not one woolly idea, 18 Jan 2004
By A Customer
Put aside a couple of days to read this mini-masterpiece about an ordinary man whose life falls apart because he has an affair with a deceitful hussy. The brilliance of the book lies in the fact that, while you know the anti-hero has brought about his own downfall, you still feel sorry for him by the end. Some scenes are comical, others are creepy. It's a must!
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5.0 out of 5 stars An underated masterpiece of personal ruin
The undisputed master of the opening lines of a novel, Nabokov does not fail to dent his reputation with Laughter in the Dark. Read more
Published on 26 Jan 2002

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