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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
Some violence in the anti-Terra setting
Language
Some
Adult language in Nabokov's extremely literary register
Sexual Content
A lot
Explicit sexual content including a relationship that begins when both characters are minors; central to the novel
Substance Use
None
Some substance use in the aristocratic social setting
Emotional Intensity
Some
The dazzling formal beauty of the prose and the disturbing nature of the central relationship create an unusual and demanding reading experience
What this book is about
Nabokov's most ambitious and controversial novel follows Van Veen, an aristocrat on an alternate Earth called Anti-Terra, and his half-sister Ada, with whom he develops a passionate lifelong love affair beginning in their adolescence. The novel is Nabokov's most maximally literary work — dazzling in its wordplay, allusiveness, and formal experimentation. The sexual content involves underage characters at its outset and is deliberately transgressive. A masterwork that requires careful reader awareness.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Incestuous relationship beginning in adolescence
Explicit sexual content throughout
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