delightful discussion about nabokov, lambent language and ecstasy: “Happiness is about memory. Through the magic of memory, the past is ever-present. He says at one point in Speak Memory, “time does not exist.” And that’s really what Nabakov is about. It’s about observing, it’s about recapturing and reminiscing. And he talks again and again in Ada about the “radiant now”. Everything is there. That’s why observation is so important, that moment of capturing is about turning time on its head, and that’s where the magic begins. When one understands that by reading the book, that’s enchantment. If there’s one thing to be learned it’s not anything social or historical or political or of documentary value. It’s really to learn how to observe and parse the detail of the world.”