Overview

Nabokov's dream diary-published for the first timeOn October 14, 1964, Vladimir Nabokov, a lifelong insomniac, began a curious experiment. Over the next eighty days, immediately upon waking, he wrote down his dreams, following the instructions in An Experiment with Time by British philosopher John Dunne. The purpose was to test the theory that time may go in reverse, so that a later event may generate an earlier dream. The result-published here for the first time-is a fascinating diary in which Nabokov recorded sixty-four dreams (and subsequent daytime episodes) on 118 index cards, providing a rare glimpse of the artist at his most private. Insomniac Dreams presents the text of Nabokov's dream experiment, illustrated with a selection of his original index cards, and provides rich annotations and analysis that put them in the context of his life and writings.

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9780691196909

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Reviews

Show[s] in raw form the wit, facility, and inherent discipline of language easily recognizable as Nabokov's handiwork. aEURO Publishers Weekly Dream notes are at the heart of Insomniac Dreams, and are surrounded by helpful and intriguing background material. aEURO Michael Wood, The New York Review of Books Handsomely designed . . . . [F]ull of the kind of sleep-deprived, iridescently edged complexity that likes to gather around Vladimir Nabokov's work. aEURO Nicholson Baker, The New Republic Utterly fascinating. aEURO William Boyd, The Guardian [A] meditation on the ways our dreams unmoor usaEURO from ourselves, from one another, from the most basic sense of duration. aEURO Dan Piepenbring, The New Yorker One of The GuardianaEURO (TM)s Best Books of 2017

Show[s] in raw form the wit, facility, and inherent discipline of language easily recognizable as Nabokov's handiwork. -Publishers Weekly Dream notes are at the heart of Insomniac Dreams, and are surrounded by helpful and intriguing background material. -Michael Wood, The New York Review of Books Handsomely designed . . . . [F]ull of the kind of sleep-deprived, iridescently edged complexity that likes to gather around Vladimir Nabokov's work. -Nicholson Baker, The New Republic Utterly fascinating. -William Boyd, The Guardian A meditation on the ways our dreams unmoor us-from ourselves, from one another, from the most basic sense of duration. -Dan Piepenbring, The New Yorker One of The Guardian's Best Books of 2017

A meditation on the ways our dreams unmoor us--from ourselves, from one another, from the most basic sense of duration. --Dan Piepenbring, The New Yorker Dream notes are at the heart of Insomniac Dreams, and are surrounded by helpful and intriguing background material. --Michael Wood, The New York Review of Books Show[s] in raw form the wit, facility, and inherent discipline of language easily recognizable as Nabokov's handiwork. --Publishers Weekly Handsomely designed . . . . [F]ull of the kind of sleep-deprived, iridescently edged complexity that likes to gather around Vladimir Nabokov's work. --Nicholson Baker, The New Republic Utterly fascinating. --William Boyd, The Guardian One of The Guardian's Best Books of 2017

Show[s] in raw form the wit, facility, and inherent discipline of language easily recognizable as Nabokov's handiwork. --Publishers Weekly Dream notes are at the heart of Insomniac Dreams, and are surrounded by helpful and intriguing background material. --Michael Wood, The New York Review of Books Handsomely designed . . . . [F]ull of the kind of sleep-deprived, iridescently edged complexity that likes to gather around Vladimir Nabokov's work. --Nicholson Baker, The New Republic Utterly fascinating. --William Boyd, The Guardian [A] meditation on the ways our dreams unmoor us--from ourselves, from one another, from the most basic sense of duration. --Dan Piepenbring, The New Yorker One of The Guardian's Best Books of 2017

Author Information

Vladimir Nabokov (18991977) was a Russian-American writer whose books include the novels Lolita, Pnin, Pale Fire, and Ada. Gennady Barabtarlo (19492019) was professor of literature at the University of Missouri and the author of a number of books on Nabokov.

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