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

Quote by Vladimir Nabokov

Topics: Vladimir Nabokov Quotes

Solitude is the play field of Satan

Solitude is the play field of Satan

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...

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...

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

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

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.

No author has created with less emphasis such pathetic characters as Chekhov has.

No author has created with less emphasis such pathetic characters as Chekhov has.

The breaking of a wave cannot explain the whole sea.

The breaking of a wave cannot explain the whole sea.

I confess, I do not believe in time.

I confess, I do not believe in time.

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,...

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.

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...

The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is...

The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is...

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...

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...

Satire is a lesson, parody is a game.

Satire is a lesson, parody is a game.

Genius is an African who dreams up snow

Genius is an African who dreams up snow

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.

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

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

It's a pity one can't imagine what one can't compare to anything. Genius is an...

It's a pity one can't imagine what one can't compare to anything. Genius is an...

There is only one school of literature - that of talent.

There is only one school of literature - that of talent.