Ada Or Ardor

Do you ever wonder, sometimes, if Vladimir Nabokov had problems with women? I mean, not that Lolita or this piece about sibling incest necessarily reflects on his own relationships... but it does make you wonder. Ava is set in the late 19th century in an alternate history. Earth is called Aniterra, and there is the belief (a religious or mass hallucination belief) in a twin world, called "Terra", historically identical to Earth as we know it. On Aniterra, United States includes all of the Americas and was settled extensively by Russians. North Americans use Russian, English, and French. Russia, Europe, Africa, and most of Asia are part of an empire called Tartary The British Empire. Electricity has been banned following an event called "the L-disaster", but some of the technology is as advanced as 20th century technology, like aeroplanes and cars, and they use water powered telephones and television.  Van Veen and Ada meet when he is 14 and she is nearly 12, thinking they are cousins, and begin a sexual affair. I must admit to wondering at this point if there was something wrong with the picture. Think you've wrapped your head around this bizarre relationship? Let me make it more bizarre - they're actually brother and sister. The story treads the tale of their love affair over the years and the hardships it suffers. They are both wealthy and intelligent people. Van becomes a famous psychologist - one of his specialties being research and work with people who hallucinate about Terra.  Why is this book number 15 on this list? On one hand this novel is a beautiful piece of writing, gorgeous prose, witty jokes about historical figures. On the other, it's a trashy novel about the sex lives of wealthy, annoying, lazy aristocrats. If popular culture of the current day is anything to show, it's that humans really enjoy reading about the sex lives of the rich and glamorous.