Vera (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov)

Vera Slonim Nabokov may be one of the most difficult women for a biography--she deliberately lived in the shadow of her famous husband. But Stacy Schiff does an amazing job, piecing together Vera's life from stories about her family and her husband Vladimir Nabokov. In particular, I appreciated two aspects of the book. First, the history of Jews in Russia and their precarious position. They were subject to capricious laws on residency in urban areas and permitted businesses and professions. Many became lawyers, just to navigate the labyrinth of the laws, but only to find out they couldn't practice their profession. This treatment led to a huge emigration of Jews, but soon anyone in Russia who was one of the "Bourgeoisie" or middle- to upper-middle class had to get out, too. The Russian Revolution took away the one house Nabokov ever owned (a legacy from his uncle) and the Slonim family, who ran a successful lumber business, had to leave, too. So Vera and Nabokov met in Berlin in the large expatriate community there. The second aspect is how Vera affected the writing of Nabokov, literally rescuing "Lolita", Nabokov's most famous book. He was quoted "Without my wife, I wouldn't have written a single novel." The biography is intertwined with the story of the Russian Revolution, the war, and then Nabokov's successful literary career. For that reason, this is a very worthy and interesting biography.

This is a very well written and well documented story of two lives and loves. They both seemingly adored each other. Vera somehow did "everything" for Vladimir but remained her own person throughout. She needed V's writing, true. But, he needed her constant typing beause he wrote constantly, was always busy. He needed her planning skills, her note-taking skills, her social skills, etc. Vera was the organizing force in Vladimir's life, which was her life. There was no need for any other relationship in their lives and no want of one either. Vera was even on hand for her husband's butterfly chasing. She saved his life (literally ) when he fell while chasing a desired butterfly. Vera's and Vladimir's symbiotic relationship was the closest marriage many of their friends and acquaintances had ever seen. The particularly good parts of this biography for me were the lean years in which V taught in New England colleges. This life is gone over in detail for both Vera and Vladimir---a great couple of chapters. The more full-as opposed to lean-- "Lolita" years were also good and showed a relaxing of monetary pressures to be filled instead with the stresses of fame. Four stars, not five, for this biography because of its specialized subject matter. Stacy Schiff did a super job.

love this book. it is about the wife of the guy who wrote a famous book. it was about their love story from beginning in Berlin and ending in Switzerland. she was he wife of Vladimir Nabokov. She was his helper, his ear and a very close relationship that hardly any one was allowed to enter into their private or public lives..

Véra is a wonderful book. It is, of course, a biography of Nabokov as well as Vera, and a slice of history of Russian emigrés after the Revolution. It is a bit long, and a bit repetitive, but it held my interest to the end.

FIRST LINE REVIEW: "This is the story of a woman, a man, and a marriage, a threesome that adds up any number of ways." And in the ensuing pages, Schiff does plenty of "adding," almost to a fault. While the story of Vera, the woman behind the man, is fascinating and the research involved, impressive, I was glad to have finally finished reading this excessively detailed biography. Too much of it was repetitive and, while I felt the proverbial horse thoroughly beaten to death, I'm still glad to have learned so much about the process which resulted in Nabokov's artistic creations

Other writers have elaborated at length on the quality of the contents of VERA, so I'll refrain from that. I will note - and base my own recommendation on two qualities well-investigated by Schiff, and which I loved: this is a remarkable love story, between two of the 20th century's great intellectuals, and the glimpse into not one but two creative minds at work is priceless. And Schiff does great justice to the everyday details of this collaborative relationship, with day-to-day qualities other writers would take for granted made compelling. Perhaps a book for Nabokov's fans, but a great one for sure. -David Alston

I wanted to read something by Stacey Schiff before venturing on to read her latest biography of Cleopatra so I chose Vera. The book is old and the print is small but the subject is interesting. As the wife of the author of Lolita this biography gives insights into both Nabokovs and shows how difficult it is to subsist as an author. I was curious about what kind of person would write a book like Lolita and I am finding out that you do not have to behave like your subject to be able to think and write about it. The book is long and slower moving than I'd like but it is giving me the insights I was seeking. Schiff has done her homework on the Nabokovs and the information she has uncovered on her subject makes if feel it as if she were present at the events she chronicles. I am usually a fast reader but it is difficult to rush through this. There are lots on names of publishers and associates which do not add to the story but it is part of the thoroughness of the author to include as much detail as possible. It will appeal to literary scholars but perhaps not the common reader.

Brilliant work, true and fictional at the same time, with a lot of humor, like this - Nabokov: "My typewriter doesn't work without my wife."

Reading it again after 14 years. A good read for anybody who works with their husband, very inspiring to see the inner workings of an amazing author and the role that Vera had in "his" genius.

The biography totally professionally written. Perfect. Maybe only biography of Clara Malro is that kind of intellectual..well done.