Camera Obscura and Laughter in the Dark, two novels composed from the same Russian original, represent a unique case among Nabokov's works. Paradoxically, most readers, even scholars, often confuse them, which explains why so few nations have offered a translation of each (in France, Chambre obscure was published in 1934 and Rire dans la nuit in 1992). Then three problems emerge: the reader's and the translator's status, both depending on the status of the translation. Thus, if Russian and English versions are mixed up, it may mean the English is regarded as the translation of the Russian, which it is not. Consequently, the ambiguity between translation and rewriting is an invitation to the readers to follow their guide: the author.