Я/сновидения Набокова

by Vladimir Nabokov, Gennady Barabtarlo (Editor, Translator), Alla Barabtarlo (Translator)

Впервые публикуемый дневник сновидений В. В. Набокова с комментариями и статьей одного из крупнейших исследователей творчества писателя.
14 октября 1964 года Владимир Набоков начал любопытный эксперимент. В течение восьмидесяти дней он записывал свои сны, следуя инструкциям британского философа Джона У. Данна. Цель состояла в том, чтобы проверить теорию: более позднее по времени событие находит отражение в более раннем сне. В результате возник этот уникальный дневник, в котором Набоков записал шестьдесят четыре сна (и последующие дневные эпизоды) на 118 карточках. Раскрывая неизвестный аспект увлечения Набокова природой времени, они показывают его удивительную открытость новым путям мышления.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Biography, Russia, Russian Literature, American, Reference

232 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2017

About the author

Vladimir Nabokov (Russian: Владимир Набоков) was a writer defined by a life of forced movement and extraordinary linguistic transformation. Born into a wealthy, liberal aristocratic family in St. Petersburg, Russia, he grew up trilingual, speaking Russian, English, and French in a household that nurtured his intellectual curiosities, including a lifelong passion for butterflies. This seemingly idyllic, privileged existence was abruptly shattered by the Bolshevik Revolution, which forced the family into permanent exile in 1919. This early, profound experience of displacement and the loss of a homeland became a central, enduring theme in his subsequent work, fueling his exploration of memory, nostalgia, and the irretrievable past.
The first phase of his literary life began in Europe, primarily in Berlin, where he established himself as a leading voice among the Russian émigré community under the pseudonym "Vladimir Sirin". During this prolific period, he penned nine novels in his native tongue, showcasing a precocious talent for intricate plotting and character study. Works like The Defense explored obsession through the extended metaphor of chess, while Invitation to a Beheading served as a potent, surreal critique of totalitarian absurdity. In 1925, he married Véra Slonim, an intellectual force in her own right, who would become his indispensable partner, editor, translator, and lifelong anchor.
The escalating shadow of Nazism necessitated another, urgent relocation in 1940, this time to the United States. It was here that Nabokov undertook an extraordinary linguistic metamorphosis, making the challenging yet resolute shift from Russian to English as his primary language of expression. He became a U.S. citizen in 1945, solidifying his new life in North America. To support his family, he took on academic positions, first founding the Russian department at Wellesley College, and later serving as a highly regarded professor of Russian and European literature at Cornell University from 1948 to 1959.
During this academic tenure, he also dedicated significant time to his other great passion: lepidoptery. He worked as an unpaid curator of butterflies at Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology. His scientific work was far from amateurish; he developed novel taxonomic methods and a groundbreaking, highly debated theory on the migration patterns and phylogeny of the Polyommatus blue butterflies, a hypothesis that modern DNA analysis confirmed decades later.
Nabokov achieved widespread international fame and financial independence with the publication of Lolita in 1955, a novel that was initially met with controversy and censorship battles due to its provocative subject matter concerning a middle-aged literature professor and his obsession with a twelve-year-old girl. The novel's critical and commercial success finally allowed him to leave teaching and academia behind. In 1959, he and Véra moved permanently to the quiet luxury of the Montreux Palace Hotel in Switzerland, where he focused solely on writing, translating his earlier Russian works into meticulous English, and studying local butterflies.
His later English novels, such as Pale Fire (1962), a complex, postmodern narrative structured around a 999-line poem and its delusional commentator, cemented his reputation as a master stylist and a technical genius. His literary style is characterized by intricate wordplay, a profound use of allusion, structural complexity, and an insistence on the artist's total, almost tyrannical, control over their created world. Nabokov often expressed disdain for what he termed "topical trash" and the simplistic interpretations of Freudian psychoanalysis, preferring instead to focus on the power of individual consciousness, the mechanics of memory, and the intricate, often deceptive, interplay between art and perceived "reality". His unique body of work, straddling multiple cultures and languages, continues to

Reviews

[Théo d'Or]

Another face of Nabokov, wich I didn't know, I must admit.
.

Nabokov considers the time- as the organisation of existence, and especially of the connection between memory and imagination, in life, and in the writing of fiction.
Often, this has an unpredictable result, precognition bordering on prophecy.
Far from having the skills to allow me any judgement on this theory, I notice, on the other hand, that Nabokov's dream transcript and comments introduce you into a hidden clutches of his life and thoughts. Fragments of his life are deciphered from another angle.

Nabokov's roman is opened with a new key, the one of the reversible time.
The hourglass is twisted so that events that have not yet happened - can be viewed in parallel with those already happened, reversing the chain of causation .
Now, thinking it's not really my type of book, I consider the merit of the author to have caught my attention.That,is great for me .

[Kathrin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

'Insomniac Dreams: Experiments with Time by Vladimir Nabokov' was an interesting read that fulfilled my expectations in most cases but failed other times.

Looking back at the non-fiction books I read (only 35 since 2012), they are either amazing or a fail. There seems to be no middle ground. However, this book was though to rate. It consists of five parts - an explanation of the theory (An Experiment with Time by John Dunne), followed by the dream journal and extracts of Nabokov's works and letters that also fit the description. Truth be told, I was curious to see how the book will be and I had high expectations.

When I first started reading it, my aim was to get to know the author better. I've got this notion for a while now that I want to read more Russian literature. Nabokov is an author I encounter a lot on my hunt for new books but I haven't read any of his works.
I love to know more about an author before I pick up the book because I believe this to be a possibility to see more in a book than just the story. I definitely learned a lot about Nabokov - seriously, I don't want to publish a dream journal. Dreams are in my book a rather personal topic that I wouldn't want to share with everyone but it's certainly a chance to see a new side to a person. Barabtarlo did an awesome job to flesh out the rather short diary entries with explanations from Nabokov's life. He seems to be an authority when it comes to Nabokov - it certainly takes a lot of time and effort to embed Nabokov's experiment into a bigger picture.
Having said that, I expected to enjoy this read although I haven't read a single Nabokov book. This might be true for the first half of the book but then, instead of dream journal entries, extracts from Nabokov's works were used as examples. Honestly, this was tedious to read because if you don't know a book and there's a random extract there's only that much you can understand without being frustrated. This was a let-down that I feel sorry for because the book could have been great if I either had known his works or Barabtarlo had spent some time explaining the context.

I never expected to convince me to believe Dunne's theory. The first part of the book did a decent job of explaining the theory but I remain unconvinced. Dreams and their meaning is a subject I like to think about although I never tried to see my dreams as the image of something that already happened because time can be reversed. Sorry, this was a little too much but I don't mind because I never expected it to be otherwise.

I love that they included pictures of the original index cards Nabokov used to write down his dreams. In fact, I believe the whole experiment to be quite fascinating although I can't imagine writing down whatever I remember about a dream first thing in the morning. Maybe this gets easier with practice.

All in all, the book is easy to read and interesting (maybe more so if you are actually interested in the theory of Dunne's thinking), it offers a great insight into Nabokov's life (mainly in the 1960s) but I missed the big picture. I remember liking the first half but the last part was rather dull as there was just information after information and I had no clue what to do with it.

[cypt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kaip ir rašė daugelis komentatorių - nelabai lygi knyga, vietomis žiauriai faina, vietomis atsibosta. Bet kaip antrinis šaltinis daugiau sužinot apie Nabokovą - jėginė. Tie prasišviečiantys asmeniškumai ir buvo gražiausia.

Apie ką ji - Nabokovas perskaitė Dunne'o knygą (apie jį nebuvau girdėjusi) "Experiment with Time", kur bazinė prielaida - praeities ir ateities ryšiai, tiksliau - kiek mes galima apie vieną ir kitą žinoti. Dunne'as siūlo viską labai užrašinėti, o ypač - sapnus, nuolat savo užrašus skaityti, ir hipotezė tokia, kad galime susapnuoti tai, kas dar tik atsitiks, nes kažkaip (šnd turbūt sakytume, nesąmoningai) tai, kas nutiks, žinome. Nabokovas ėmėsi tą ir daryti ir kurį laiką (visgi tik apie pusmetį - nebaisiai ilgai) tuos užrašus pildė. Keliskart jo sapnai iš tiesų atsikartojo tikrovėje.

Knygoj - pora skyrių ir apie Dunne'ą, ir apie Nabokovą, tada jo sapnų kortelių perrašai, tada - ištraukos apie sapnus iš jo romanų. Man labiausiai patiko kortelės, tačiau buvo savotiškai žavinga ir tas ištraukas skaityti - atrodo, daugumą jo romanų skaičiau ir atsimenu, bet kažkaip vis iš naujo ta ypatinga jo proza trenkia į galvą. Toks labiau gerbėjiškas (nesakau "fanų", atrodo kažkaip nederama prie Nabokovo, o ir šiaip jo fanai/fanės yra too sophisticated, kad taip pasivadintų) leidinys, ir kaip toks - tikrai vertas dėmesio. Gal tokios ir turi būt visokios moxlinės knygos - su tinkamu kiekiu meilės, gerbėjiškumo, kad tai persiduotų skaitant, ir kuo mažiau "i'm so smart" įžvalgų, kurios ilgainiui tik ima kelti nuobodulį, visokius nemigos sapnus.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you miss reading papers in grad school, this will be a friendly reminder. I enjoyed the section that included dreams from Nabokov and his wife, but other heavy sections made this book a challenging read, both in good ways and bad. Full concentration is needed for continuing clarity while reading. Some of the ideas presented are thought provoking, and an average reader will likely need a dictionary at least once. Be prepared for a scholarly academic text here, more than just dreams by Nabokov.

[Owlseyes]

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/1...

[Derodidymus · Rating 2 out of 5]

lucrarea de licență a cui e toată cartea asta???? 😭😭😭
pentru că se simte ca ceva compus şi pus laolaltă sub presiunea unui deadline şi nu din voință proprie.

singura parte captivantă e introducerea şi primul capitol -- explorează teoria şi experimentul lui Dunne cu privire la vise şi timp, menționează şi studiile lui Florenski pe aceeaşi temă şi influența lui Dunne (şi implicit a experimentului) asupra scriiturii lui Nabokov.

al doilea capitol e experimentul lui Nabokov în sine (notează visele în fiecare dimineață, fără să le interpreteze, fiind atent dacă este vreunul predictiv -- adică dacă a visat ceva ce urma să se întâmple la câteva zile după vis -- experimentul a fost reuşit pentru câteva zile şi vise dar l-a abandonat destul de rapid).

de la partea 3 pâna la final e umplutură. efectiv, pierdere de timp. era suficient dacă se oprea după experiment cu nişte concluzii.

also Vera blink twice if this man kept you hostage with a gun to your head to help him throughout his writing career.
also no wonder your wife didn't write replies to your letters, you write 5 paragraphs about insomnia when you could have simply said "i cannot sleep i am fuckedddddd babe" 🥲. if you are a woman don't marry a male writer. actually just don't marry a man.

[Johanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was most intrigued when I found out that fairly recently a book had been published on the dreams of a genius mind, my latest literary obsession, Vladimir Nabokov. I could not help wondering whether Henry James’ little piece of wisdom ("Tell a dream, lose a reader.") would hold true, or whether it could be proven wrong, or whether, which I deemed most likely, this would be the exception to prove the rule.

'Insomniac Dreams: Experiments with Time by Vladimir Nabokov', is more than an edited collection of Nabokov’s dream diary. The book consists of five parts. In the first part, Gennady Barabtarlo provides his reader with an introduction into John W. Dunne’s Experiment with Time and how it inspired Nabokov to attempt this experiment himself in 1964, following Dunne’s strict instructions. With his theory of serial time, Dunne attempts to explain phenomena like precognition and deja-vu through a detachment of time from space, of the mental from the physical. According to Dunne, the unconscious mind may travel along the timeline separate from the body, which is why one may dream of things that have not yet happened, as a kind of memory of the future.

The second part is an edited collection of the dreams that Nabokov scribbled onto his beloved index cards for the purpose of this experiment, enriched here and there with short comments, observations or translations by Barabtarlo and eventually followed by part three, a collection of even more of Nabokov’s dreams, which were recorded prior to and after the experiment, in his journals, memoirs or letters to his wife. The fourth part is a similar collection of dreams, however this time they are fictional dreams. Neatly sorted into categories, Barabtarlo quotes most if not all fictional dreams to be found in Nabokov’s novels and continues to elaborate on how Nabokov processed this fascination with time and dreams in his work, especially his post-experiment novels, in the fifth and last part.

To me, this book seemed like a unique hybrid between a philosophical essay, a literary study, a partial biography and fantastic conspiration theory, uncovering mindblowing coincidents and obscure connections which might make one doubt, for a second, whether one really doubts the possibility of precognition. Most of all, this read stimulated my mind and my perception of time, however flawed and incorrect Dunne’s theory may be. The workings of time will never cease to mesmerise me (and I bet I’m not alone in this) and reading Insomniac Dreams has been nourishment for my curious if sometimes idle brain.

I bought this book because I had been curious to get a glimpse of the most private and personal part of this genius mind, but it was Gennady Barabtarlo’s loving dedication, his diligent research and compilation, as well as his own humorous writing, that entertained me most. Indeed I feel like I’ve gotten to know a more intimate side of Nabokov, which I could not have any other way. Especially his issues with insomnia, the thoughts that came to his mind while he was waiting for sleep to relieve (or deprive) him of his consciousness, and the not so extraordinary nature of his dreams made me realise one thing above all: This singular genius was a human just like me, troubled by nightmares and insecurities, indulging in simple pleasures, longing for affection, caring about the people dear to him. In reality, people can build their empires and pull up their walls, but in our dreams, we’re all the same – vulnerable.

[Brent Legault · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite enough Nabokov here for my taste (but a starving man will take any crumbs he's given.) And its padded out and fattened up with excerpts from the all the brilliant novels I have already read and reread. But this book is needed, no doubt, by any Nabokov nut!

[Old Man JP · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few days ago I was in a bookstore and picked up, what I thought were, a couple of Nabokov novels that I hadn't read yet. Well, it turns out Insomniac Dreams isn't actually a novel but about an experiment that Nabokov conducted for a short period of time by recording dreams he experienced on note cards immediately after he had woke up. He got the idea after reading Dunne's Experiment with Time that, apparently, led Nabokov to believe that dreams are memories of things to come in the future. A kind of form of time travel, I guess. So, most of the book is taken up with the daily comments he made about his dreams. It was kind of interesting but not what I had been expecting. Hopefully, the other book I bought will be an actual novel.

[Megan Henriksen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would only pick up this book if you have a great interest in Nabokov and his work or you have a great interest in the study and meaning of dreams (and preferably, both are true). I had a mild interest in both topics, and I was barely able to get through the relatively short book.

The book chronicles the notes that Nabokov took on his dream experiments based off of Dunne’s work, as well as analyzed Nabokov’s writing about dreams to see how they fit into dream philosophy.

I found the dream experiments interesting in premise, but mundane in practice. More interesting was the section on different types of dreams and how Nabokov’s writings on dreams in his novels fit into dominating philosophies, but I am frankly not familiar enough with all of Nabokov’s work to get out the required enjoyment from this portion.

Overall, I am glad that this book exists for extreme “hard literature” enthusiasts as well as dream experts, but it is one that I will not be reading again.

[Yu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book connects the dots among Nabokov's oeuvre in terms of dream discourse. I never paid particular attention to his "dreamy" like portray of surroundings and protagonist's dreams or insomnia nights, this book gives the opportunity to combine these excerpts and probe what's behind it.

It started with a "dream experiment" Nabokov started, which is to record his dream everyday. He also categories his dream into six categories, which I'd venture to think it fits to most of the people. Book contains original Cambridge cards he used to record those dreams, and readers could see his handwritings.

Book itself is also beautifully written, typeface is wonderful, very inspiring.

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insomniac Dreams is an unusual book, one that focuses on dreams and Nabokov in his own words and through Gennady Barabtarlo’s commentary and notes. It is the publication of Nabokov’s dream diary kept as an experiment to see if later events can influence earlier dreams alongside other of his personal and published writings relating to dreams and commentary on Nabokov in relation to dreams and time. There are images of some of the original notecards Nabokov used for this dream diary and an initial explanation of the book (An Experiment with Time by the British philosopher John Dunne) which inspired the experiment.

Nabokov was testing the theory that dreams can be precognitive and Insomniac Dreams is certainly a fascinating look at how Nabokov recorded this and then how dreams feature in his novels, particularly later ones such as Ada or Ardor. Many of the dreams written down by Nabokov do sound like they could come from his novels and Nabokov scholars and fans will likely find it very interesting to consider the consequences of this experiment in dreams and time. Despite the philosophical connections to the experiment, the book is straightforward and readable to a general reader and the discussion of rereading Nabokov in relation to time not running forwards may spark readers to want to give this a go (or to chart their own dreams, indeed).

[Cody · Rating 1 out of 5]

Saying this book is by Nabokov is as disingenuous as saying this book is anything but a dissertation with little to say. Sure, there is a small section full of VN's outlines of some of his dreams, but much of this book is just made up of connections between events in his stories/life and these dreams that mostly come across as either coincidental or tenuous at best. Going into this read, I thought there would be some connection to how VN used his dreams to fuel his writing process... I could not have been more wrong. Turns out, VN's interest in recording his dreams came from his interest in an old theory that believed dreams are precognitive views into the future. And just as VN abandoned his experiment of recording his surreal thoughts to test such a theory, I would recommend abandoning any thought of reading this book unless you are absolutely obsessed with everything and anything that has to do with Nabokov's life.

[kerrycat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. Almost a DNF. Not what I was expecting, although with VN it isn't a good idea to have expectations. I hate to say it, but his dreams (and his wife's) were really boring. I'm glad it was short enough to push my way through, hoping there would be something better as I went on. Didn't happen.

[Maria Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to find out more about Nabokov. And some ideas about time and space were thought-provoking.
For true fans of Nabokov.

[Mark Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

The two-star rating is entirety my own fault. I picked this book as my first Nabokov. Very silly to do. I'm sure this is a very fine book for Nabokovians.

[jeni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not actually a book by Vladimir Nabokov like many reviewers seemed to think before reading, nor does it pretend to be, as the cover and description clearly describe a compilation with commentary by Gennady Barabtarlo.

This book has five parts - as someone not very familiar with Vladimir Nabokov, the first part was the most interesting. It describes the theories of dreams and time by various philosophers, and the experiment created by Dunne that VN decides to follow (the experiment essentially sets out to prove that dreams can be a form of precognition).

The second and third part describe VN and his wife’s dreams within and outside of the experiment, which were interesting to me in that they were well written, and sometimes showed insight into the hypothesis of the experiment. The actual content of the dreams was rarely noteworthy in and of itself.

The fourth part was solely excerpts of every dream VN had ever described in his works (excluding plays?). Reading the excerpts showed how VN used his dreams as influence for characters’ dreams, a thought provoking discovery. But as a whole, this section is incredibly dull, as reading mostly contextless excerpts of many novels for ~forty pages is bound to be. The compiler also makes the choice to split the dreams into arguably nonsensical categories, an especially intriguing decision when considering that VN had already devised categories for dreams during his experiment. I found this section skippable, although perhaps my opinion would be different if I had read more of VN’s works (I doubt it). The editor does include and translate parts of the Russian translation that were not as detailed in the English translation, which is admirable.

The fifth part discusses how the experiment affected VN’s later works, and the way that he uses length of chapters/parts in novels to alter the reader’s feeling of time passing in the novel. This part would be excellent, if not for the transition to the editor trying to show VN’s precognitive ability through increasingly ludicrous examples of the editor’s own creation. While he admits they are far-fetched, the examples unravel so completely by the end that it detracts from the rest of the book.

Overall, I think this book accomplishes what it set out to do, and does it mostly well. It has an excellent introduction to the theories on dreams and time that drew VN in, and a detailed compilation and explanation of every dream VN has written about. Ardent fans of VN will also appreciate the insight his dreams and notes provide into his personal life. While readers unfamiliar with VN might become bored in the middle, anyone with an interest in dream or time philosophy will find the beginning and end worthwhile. I commend the editor for a very thorough compilation, and am inspired to read more of VN’s works.

[mobydickens · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Gennady Barabtarlo lays out and writes a commentary to go along with an experiment Nabokov conducted, following the instructions laid out in An Experiment with Time by the British philosopher John Dunne. The purpose was to test the theory that time may go in reverse, or is not as straight as we might think, so that, a later event may generate an earlier dream.

"It as as if Nabokov felt an invisible presence of a time vortex, where the warm wind of the past meets the much lighter and cooler current of the foretold but unpredictable future, blowing "between remembrances and hope-that memory of things to come".

Loved reading his index cards full of dreams... but I'll read anything that has to do with Nabokov. The book was laid out in a few pieces - starting with a bit of an explanation about Dunne and his book, moving on to the dreams that Nabokov recorded, then presenting a collection of excerpts from Nabokov's books that have to do with dreams, and then lastly some more commentary and analysis. I enjoyed it, but probably wouldn't recommend to anyone who isn't as interested in Nabokov or interested in Time, and dreams.

From Ada... "We can know the time, we can know a time. We can never know Time. Our senses are simply not meant to perceive it. It is like-"

[Cassie Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction and premise. Beyond the first 5 pages which are incredibly rewarding, I’d say completing your own experiment in the lake is more rewarding than what is written. If you do this at the same time and use the novel for guidance it could be more entertaining. Either way it’s a light weight novel which reveals more insight into the famed Cornell author and his life experience.

[Kiyo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very wordsy read. It is best to be familiar with Nabokov's work. I honestly don't like the fact that he is kind of an Oligarch. It made it hard to relate to. The idea was interesting though. It's also a pretty short read.

[Grace Boak · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is half dissertation half dream journal (which is cool if you like that sort of thing). It’s important to be very familiar with Nabokov’s work to understand most of this but there are some compelling ideas…

[Hillah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting seeing how dreaming/time is embedded in Nabokov's creative process but also threads through his literature. Great insight into time-organization and thought. Really pulled things together for me.

[Kim Zinkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

MAKES ME VERY INTERESTED IN READING MUCH MORE NABOKOV.

[Anna Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually love Nabokov’s work. But this book was an exception lol

[Sophie Goldenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is absolutely incredible, magical. Although I’d recommend to read it if the reader is already familiar with Nabokov’s books to understand certain parts better.

[Haoyu]

dnf

[Chahira Bjm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very insightful.

[ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

from interesting to boring to interesting again. but i am glad i read this! thought provoking…

[X · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I only got two things out of this book: the reaffirmation of Nabokov's boundless genius and discovering that he was a zi0nīst.

[aida · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
„căci a nu crede în timp este echivalent cu a nu accepta degradarea unor lucruri neperisabile precum iubirea, sufletul și arta mimetică.”