Thank you, Steve, for translating for us all the Amilcar revelations in Russian concerning the mysterious car , stranglings and ladies with lapdogs. They were most entertaining. I even tried googling a little but the only information I got was related to the Amilcar models related to VN’s favorite horse: the Pegasus and to WWII. No link to Icarus, though. Only to his private muses and I wonder if Isadora Duncan should be included among them.
Vladimir Nabokov, 72 Today, Writing a New Novel www.nytimes.com/books/.../nab-v-newnovel.html
Vladimir Nabokov, the celebrated Russian-born American author of "Lolita" and "Ada" who lives in ... ) in written replies (he invariably writes out his thoughts) to birthday questions, he said in a mail interview: ... "Pegasus, only Pegasus.
De: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] Em nome de Alexander Dolinin
Enviada em: domingo, 19 de outubro de 2014 18:34
Para: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Assunto: Re: [NABOKV-L] THOUGHTS: A. Babikov on Amilcar in Transparent Things
Mr. Babikov's rendering of Wikipedia articles on Amilcar cars is amusing and informative but he overlooks the most important thing that made me mention the Amilcar French company without going into details. VN's novel ends circa 1970, that is more than 30 years after the last Amilcar car had been produced and sold. Do we have any reason to believe that the Swiss lady with a dog would drive around in an antique car? I doubt it. In my view, Nabokov either recycled the name he remembered from 1920s and1930s or reinvented it for his own purpose.
Alexander Dolinin