NABOKV-L post 0014903, Wed, 14 Feb 2007 08:42:01 +0100

Re André Gide. The Gide reference in 'Pale Fire' is not to 'L'immoraliste' but to his travel diaries 'Voyage au Congo' and 'Retour du Tchad' (1927-28) which Nabokov must have known. There is an explicit but brief remark on Gide in his interview with Anne Guérin (Paris: 'L'Express', 5 nov 1959, pp.32-33). He said he did not particularly care for Gide but considered 'Les caves du Vatican' to be "very good". Gide, he said, knew nothing of life but perhaps his descriptions of Arab youths aren't too bad, "a sort of candied fruit".

Dieter Zimmer

Feb 14, 2007 -- 8:30am

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