Look at the Harlequins! is a novel written by Vladimir Nabokov, first published in 1974. The work was Nabokov's final published novel before his death in 1977. Look At the Harlequins! is a fictional autobiography narrated by Vadim Vadimovich N. , a Russian-American writer with uncanny biographical likenesses to the novel's author, Vladimir Nabokov. VV is born in pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg and raised by his aunt, who advises him to "look at the harlequins" "Play! Invent the world! Invent reality!". After the revolution, VV moves to Western Europe. Count Nikifor Nikodimovich Starov... become his patron . VV meets Iris Black who becomes his first wife. After her death - she is killed by a Russian émigré - he marries Annette , his long-necked typist. They have a daughter, Isabel, and emigrate to the United States. The marriage fails; and, after Annette's death, VV takes care of the pubescent Isabel, now known as Bel. They travel from motel to motel. To counter ugly rumors, VV marries Louise Adamson while Bel elopes with an American to Soviet Russia.
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