Andrea Pitzer

When Andrea Pitzer first read Nabokov as a college student, she wasn't an immediate fan. "I didn't mind violence, or sex, or protagonists who were not nice—I didn't even need them to reform," she writes in the introduction to her first book, The Secret History of Vladimir Nabokov. "But I wanted the events and the people in his books to matter."

Nabokov escaped Bolshevik Russia, Nazi Germany (with his Jewish wife and son) and then Occupied France. He witnessed unimaginable violence and tragedy in his lifetime (1899–1977). Even while he's praised for being a brilliant prose stylist, he's criticized for his indifference to these political atrocities.

But what if the Lolita author folded hidden layers of meaning into his books—stories that "have something profound to teach us about being human and our very way of interacting with art"? That's what Pitzer finds in The Secret History, drawing on information from court cases, FBI files, Red Cross records and other forgotten or newly declassified documents. I recently spoke with the D.C.-based writer about her revelatory new book.

You talk about being drawn to Nabokov's writing when you were 18. Did you have the sense, even then, that there was more to his books than gorgeous sentences?
When I first encountered his work when I was young, it was, Wow, this guy really knows how to write, but he's freaking me out. I really identified with Lolita the character, but what happened to her seemed so horrific that, while I appreciated the skill that went into [the novel], I didn't want to immerse myself too fully in it. The second time, I thought, This language is really so incredible. Let me give it more of a chance. As I read more and more, I sensed there was more to his books, but it was a really long time before I went back to find out what that was.

Diana Guerrero-Maciá, Nomadic Future, 2012.

"Model Studies" | Graham Foundation
Thomas Demand curated and contributes new pieces to this exhibition about experimental forms of representation, which includes works by fellow German artist Thomas Scheibitz, the late Fernand Léger and Francis Bruguière, and 1920s students at the Soviet Union's Vkhutemas architecture school. Through June 1. 

"Kate Levant: Inhuman Indifference" | moniquemeloche
Levant, whose work appeared in the 2012 Whitney Biennial, experiments with traditionally feminine objects such as hosiery and earrings. In the gallery's "on the wall" storefront-window project space, Sanford Biggers's site-specific installation Argo engages the Underground Railroad's use of quilts. Through June 8. 

"For and Against Modern Art: The Armory Show + 100" | DePaul Art Museum
The 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art (a.k.a. the Armory Show) attracted a record 189,000 visitors when it stopped in Chicago. Reuniting prints, drawings and paintings that future heavyweights such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso presented there, "For and Against Modern Art" delves into the controversies ignited by these avant-garde works. Through June 16.

"FRAGMENT: Sampling the Modern" and "Cody Hudson: Flip Your Wig." | Elmhurst Art Museum 
Recently appointed Chief Curator Staci Boris continues to steer the Elmhurst Art Museum in exciting directions—this time, with a group exhibition that showcases local emerging and mid-career artists. Leslie Baum, Diana Guerrero-Maciá, Jessica Labatte and Adam Scott sample elements of visual culture (ads, symbols, urban debris, art history) in bold, color-saturated works that reflect both 20th-century abstract modernism and contemporary culture. Meanwhile, Cody Hudson fills the EAM's Hostetler Gallery with large-scale sculptures from scrap wood and metal. Opens May 3.

At Time Out, we consider every month National Burger Month, hence we weren't about to argue with the Marketing "Department," when "they" informed us that May is actually National Burger Month. Since Googling (or, now that we use Microsoft Outlook, should I say, "Bing-ing"?) "Who decided May is National Burger Month" only led to a bunch of Internet astroturf, we're just going to have to recommend you read the awesome burger issue we put out during the unofficial burger month of March. Check out our picks for the best restaurant burgers in Chicago, discover the fries you need to eat with them, learn how to DIY the perfect burger, and join in our debate between new-school and old-school burger joints.

Evanston's Next Theatre Company has announced its three-play lineup for the 2013–14 season, to include Compulsion by Rinne Groff, Luck of the Irish by Kirsten Greenidge and The Great God Pan by Amy Herzog.

Groff's Compulsion (October 10–November 17) is a fictionalized take on the writer Meyer Levin's obsessive professional relationship with the diary of Anne Frank. Devon de Mayo, who helmed the U.S. stage premiere of Everything Is Illuminated at Next earlier this year, returns to direct. Greenidge's Luck of the Irish (January 16–February 23), about a black couple in 1950s Boston engaging an Irish family to "ghost-buy" a house in a white neighborhood, will be staged by Damon Kiely.

Herzog, meanwhile, is emerging as a major force: The Brooklyn-based playwright's 4000 Miles, which was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize last month, will be staged at Northlight Theatre in the fall, while Steppenwolf is set to mount her Belleville next month. The Great God Pan (April 3–May 11), about a man receiving troubling news of a possible childhood trauma of which he has no memory, will be directed by Kimberly Senior, who staged Herzog's After the Revolution at Next last year.