All my stories are webs of style and none seems at first blush to contain much kinetic matter. For me style is matter.

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.

My loathings are simple: stupidity, oppression, crime, cruelty, soft music.

My loathings are simple: stupidity, oppression, crime, cruelty, soft music.

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...

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

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

I have often noticed that after I had bestowed on the characters of my novels...

I have often noticed that after I had bestowed on the characters of my novels...

Style and Structure are the essence of a book; great ideas are hogwash.

Style and Structure are the essence of a book; great ideas are hogwash.

Turning one's novel into a movie script is rather like making a series of sketches...

Turning one's novel into a movie script is rather like making a series of sketches...

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...

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nothing is more exhilarating than philistine vulgarity.

Nothing is more exhilarating than philistine vulgarity.

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...

Life is a great surprise. I don't see why death should not be an even...

Life is a great surprise. I don't see why death should not be an even...

A work of art has no importance whatever to society. It is only important to...

A work of art has no importance whatever to society. It is only important to...

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,...

Genius is an African who dreams up snow

Genius is an African who dreams up snow

For 37 years I've practiced 14 hours a day, and now they call me a...

For 37 years I've practiced 14 hours a day, and now they call me a...

Genius is an infinite capacity for taking life by the scruff of the neck

Genius is an infinite capacity for taking life by the scruff of the neck