Laughter in the Dark

 Nabokov wrote more than Lolita.  In fact, he got books published for many years.  I wonder if he didn't write Lolita if his books would just have faded into the abyss kind of like Jean Rhys' books did before Wide Sargasso Sea.   Laughter in the Dark is about a man named Albinus who has a good life: a great respectable wife and child yet he wrecks it all to have an affair.  The other woman Margot is easily one of the most obnoxious women I have ever read in literature.   Why he doesn't dump her to the side is mysterious and sometimes infuriating to the reader.  There's a scene where Margot purposefully sends a love letter to his house which sends the wife packing.  Why he didn't leave Margot then and there is beyond me.  Margot also carries on a relationship with an artist Rex and they try to live off all of Albinus' remaining income.  You feel sorry for Albinus but know also that he caused his own ruin.  He should have been grateful for what he had.