I have often noticed that after I had bestowed on the characters of my novels some treasured item of my past, it would pine away in the artificial world where I had so abruptly placed it.

Quote by Vladimir Nabokov

Topics: Vladimir Nabokov Quotes

There are aphorisms that, like airplanes, stay up only while they are in motion.

There are aphorisms that, like airplanes, stay up only while they are in motion.

Happy is the novelist who manages to preserve an actual love letter that he received...

Happy is the novelist who manages to preserve an actual love letter that he received...

The more gifted and talkative one's characters are, the greater the chances of their resembling...

The more gifted and talkative one's characters are, the greater the chances of their resembling...

Solitude is the play field of Satan

Solitude is the play field of Satan

There are aphorisms that, like airplanes, stay up only while they are in motion.

There are aphorisms that, like airplanes, stay up only while they are in motion.

It is hard, I submit, to loathe bloodshed, including war, more than I do, but...

It is hard, I submit, to loathe bloodshed, including war, more than I do, but...

I think like a genius, I write like a distinguished author, and I speak like...

I think like a genius, I write like a distinguished author, and I speak like...

I think it is all a matter of love: the more you love a memory,...

I think it is all a matter of love: the more you love a memory,...

A writer should have the precision of a poet and the imagination of a scientist.

A writer should have the precision of a poet and the imagination of a scientist.

Caress the detail, the divine detail.

Caress the detail, the divine detail.

To play safe, I prefer to accept only one type of power: the power of...

To play safe, I prefer to accept only one type of power: the power of...

Revelation can be more perilous than Revolution.

Revelation can be more perilous than Revolution.

It is a short walk from the hallelujah to the hoot.

It is a short walk from the hallelujah to the hoot.

Poetry involves the mysteries of the irrational perceived through rational words.

Poetry involves the mysteries of the irrational perceived through rational words.

The evolution of sense is, in a sense, the evolution of nonsense.

The evolution of sense is, in a sense, the evolution of nonsense.

I would like to spare the time and effort of hack reviewers and, generally, persons...

I would like to spare the time and effort of hack reviewers and, generally, persons...

The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being...

The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being...

Genius is an African who dreams up snow.

Genius is an African who dreams up snow.

Nothing revives the past so completely as a smell that was once associated with it.

Nothing revives the past so completely as a smell that was once associated with it.

You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style.

You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style.