Laughter in the Dark

By: Vladimir Nabokov

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Albinus, a respectable, middle-aged man and aspiring filmmaker, abandons his wife for a lover half his age: Margot, who wants to become a movie star. When Albinus introduces her to Rex, an American movie producer, disaster ensues. What emerges is an elegantly sardonic and irresistibly ironic novel of desire, deceit, and deception, a curious romance set in the film world of Berlin in the 1930s.

One of the 20th century’s master prose stylists, Vladimir Nabokov was born in St. Petersburg in 1899. He studied French and Russian literature at Trinity College, Cambridge, then lived in Berlin and Paris, where he launched a brilliant literary career. In 1940 he moved to the United States, and achieved renown as a novelist, poet, critic, and translator. He taught literature at Wellesley, Stanford, Cornell, and Harvard. In 1961 he moved to Montreux, Switzerland, where he died in 1977.

©1969 Vladimir Nabokov (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Nabokov writes prose the only way it should be written, that is, ecstatically.” (John Updike)

Better story than Lolita? But is this his only theme?

Knowing what we know now and how bad it’s always been, I’m repelled by such “old guy pedophilia” stories that were evidently acceptable to write about in Nabokov’s time (Thomas Mann was also fascinated with pedophile stalking). I almost put this book down in disgust, but stayed with it because the writing style is so good. The story finally took off with new surprises. Some didn’t find any morals in the story. It’s shadenfreud and yet satisfying that Albinus (Humbert) really got his comeuppance. Moral: mature men and women ought not be fools and get involved in such rotten business.

My 3rd Nabokov novel (not incl. his 100 short stories collection)

This was a fun easy listen - first time I didn't have to rewind anything w/ Nabokov. Read a review on here (or reviews) suggesting this was a good "intro" to Nabokov...I disagree. After first having read Lolita in paperback form, as well as most of his Short Stories (finished up in the audio expanded version), and most recently the audio version of Transparent Things, I believe that Laughter in the Dark is such a far cry from the unique brilliance this author has bestowed upon the fiction genre.

But I also don't think Lolita is a great intro either...I only picked up his Short Stories after consulting my most well-read friend & complaining about the, at times, excruciatingly repetitive nature of Lolita's narrator's obsessions (granted I had seen Kubrick's movie version pre-reading so that eliminated all suspense).

While I found Laughter in the Dark thoroughly entertaining, it was in part because I spent much of the time thinking about how much different it was than the Nabokov I have read.

If you want an intro to the magic of Nabokov, I highly recommend his short stories. Read/listen to this one later!

Death is often the point of life's joke

An early Nabokov with many funky allusions to Tolstoy, early anticipations and presages of Lolita, and Nabokovian black humor from beginning to end. As a independent work, I don't think it belongs in the top tier of Nabokov's lush ouvre, but it seems to me to be a piece where Nabokov establishes his literary sea legs. The genealogy of most of his great later work seem to all thread back to 'Laughter in the Dark'/aka 'Kamera obskura'.

In this novel, Nabokov is playing with themes of vision, blindness, truth, deception, art and morality. You see many of Nabokov's later motifs surrounding vision floating (like mouches volantes) through this early work: mirrors, window pains, mimicry, scintillations, semblances, glasses, movies, etc. It wouldn't be Nabokov if he played any of these themes straight. He bends the narrative and plays with Tolstoy's belief that it is "the essential nature of truth to be hidden from, then revealed to, the eyes." Nabokov gives you the goods and gives them to you good and hard right between the eyes.

Nabokov is excellent and this is a good intro

Nabokov is far and away one of the best authors. this is a very accessible novel and very fun as well. dark humor, brilliant writing. I loved this one more after listening to it at same time as a friend and we talked about it. I read it long ago and am glad to have chance to revisit all his work. I keep turning friends onto Nabokov and they are not disappointed. I particularly like how he tries to mirror the themes and content in the actual writing and structure. when you get to the end, imagine it all as the movie it's structured as with the scenes/short chapters and then you'll see it in your head as he intended. one of my favorites, until the next Nabokov i listen to...

Does Anyone Know the Moral of this Story?

I did not understand the moral of this sorry. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed o get out of it further than a peek into Nobokov’s imagination and a brief escape from the world. These things aren’t to be underestimated of course, my only complaint was that I didn’t understand the moral or even know if there was one at all. Very well performed, though.

brilliant

Nabokov is always superb. Though an early work it shows the brilliance of his prose.