Dieter E. Zimmer (1934–2020)

Dieter E. Zimmer, the doyen of German Nabokovians, has collected a number of essays and recollections about Nabokov's most famous work. Most of the essays have been published, in some form or other, on his website, in newspapers and magazines. Thus, true fans will not find much new information. The book is still valuable as it collects these essays in one place and is supported by 48 pages of color illustrations and photographs.

The first chapter narrates the publication and reception of show more Lolita. The second discusses love and sex (Lolita is no Lolita in the modern definition), the third examines Humbert's pedophilia and the public reaction to this topic, the fourth highlights the fortunate and unfortunate cover choices for the book (illustrated in the book and on his website), the fifth presents the real Dolly Haze, the sixth argues about the claimed relation between Lolita and Lilith. The seventh chapter offers a curiosity of picture taking apes and Nabokov's recollection thereof (the weakest chapter in my opinion). The eigth and ninth chapters remove two doubtful influences on Nabokov from consideration (Victor, Lichberg), while the tenth presents an actual US case of a girl's two year trip with a man which happened just after Nabokov had written the manuscript. The eleventh chapter deals with Humbert's own view of his pedophilia.

The twelfth chapter reveals Zimmer's detective skills in identifying locations from Nabokov's clues. This is the most original part of the book. The thirteenth chapter is an account of the German translation (first attempt botched, then revised in a team and printed despite the reservations of Vera Nabokov (bothered about the mistakes but unwilling to read the complete translation), later corrected and improved by Zimmer himself). The final chapter concludes that even Nabokov makes mistakes: Some dates are not internally consistent, apart from the fact that Humbert could hardly have written down such a long manuscript in fifty days. Zimmer argues that a substantial portion had already been noted by Humbert before his arrest. The book concludes with a chronology of the novel and its protagonists. show less

Vladimir Nabokov lived in Berlin from 1922 to 1937. The Berlin years were linked to the loss of the family fortune and status, the murder of his father and precarious living conditions as an emigrant with few marketable skills (writer, English teacher and tennis coach). After WWI and the Russian Revolution a Russian exile community of nearly half a million people lived in Berlin. By 1929, their number had dwindled to 75000. By 1933, only 10.000 remained. Still, the Nabokovs stayed, show more strangely, until January 1937. By then the Nuremberg race laws made their economic survival impossible and they moved via Prague to Paris.

Dieter E. Zimmer, the longtime German translator of Nabokov's works, has joined period photographs with Nabokov's vignettes about Berlin and the (mostly non charming) Berliners. Zimmer includes also some short essays about the Russian Berlin, the Nabokov family and Nabokov's life in Berlin. I wished that section were expanded. Binder's Kafka in Paris (about Kafka's short touristic visits of the eternal city) has uncovered far more than Zimmer about the extended stay of the Nabokovs. Naturally, the migratory lifestyle and war have destroyed much evidence. But Zimmer could have elaborated on the tennis clubs, the butterflies, the chess problems, the English lessons etc. I hope someone sees this book as a stepping stone to present more of Nabokov's Berlin. show less