Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov, also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin; 22 April [O.S. 10 April] 1899c – 2 July 1977) was a Russian novelist. Nabokov's first nine novels were in Russian. He then rose to international prominence as a writer of English prose. He also made serious contributions as a lepidopterist and chess composer.
Nabokov's Lolita (1955) is his most famous novel, and often considered his finest work in English. It exhibits the love of intricate word play and synesthetic detail that characterised all his works. The novel was ranked fourth in the list of the Modern Library 100 Best Novels; Pale Fire (1962) was ranked at 53rd on the same list, and his memoir, Speak, Memory, was listed eighth on the Modern Library nonfiction list. He was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction seven times, but never won it. {more}
"It was love at first sight, at last sight, at ever and ever sight."
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"I think it is all a matter of love; the more you love a memory the stronger and stranger it becomes."
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"Do not be angry with the rain; it simply does not know how to fall upwards."
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"Human life is but a series of footnotes to a vast obscure unfinished masterpiece."
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"Our imagination flies -- we are its shadow on the earth."
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"Some people—and I am one of them—hate happy ends. We feel cheated. Harm is the norm. Doom should not jam. The avalanche stopping in its tracks a few feet above the cowering village behaves not only unnaturally but unethically."
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"Words without experience are meaningless."
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"Life is a great surprise. I do not see why death should not be an even greater one."
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"Life is short. From here to that old car you know so well there is a stretch of twenty, twenty-five paces. It is a very short walk. Make those twenty-five steps. Now. Right now. Come just as you are. And we shall live happily ever after."
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"A writer should have the precision of a poet and the imagination of a scientist."
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"Curiously enough, one cannot read a book; one can only reread it. A good reader, a major reader, and active and creative reader is a rereader."
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"A wise reader reads the book of genius not with his heart, not so much with his brain, but with his spine. It is there that occurs the telltale tingle..."
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"If a violin string could ache, i would be that string."
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"It's a pity one can't imagine what one can't compare to anything. Genius is an African who dreams up snow."
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"I think like a genius, I write like a distinguished author, and I speak like a child."
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"A work of art has no importance whatever to society. It is only important to the individual. "
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"There is no science without fancy and no art without fact."
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"One is always at home in one's past..."
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"Loneliness as a situation can be corrected, but as a state of mind it is an incurable illness."
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"It was love at first sight, at last sight, at ever and ever sight."
---
"I think it is all a matter of love; the more you love a memory the stronger and stranger it becomes."
---
"Do not be angry with the rain; it simply does not know how to fall upwards."
---
"Human life is but a series of footnotes to a vast obscure unfinished masterpiece."
---
"Our imagination flies -- we are its shadow on the earth."
---
"Some people—and I am one of them—hate happy ends. We feel cheated. Harm is the norm. Doom should not jam. The avalanche stopping in its tracks a few feet above the cowering village behaves not only unnaturally but unethically."
---
"Words without experience are meaningless."
---
"Life is a great surprise. I do not see why death should not be an even greater one."
---
"Life is short. From here to that old car you know so well there is a stretch of twenty, twenty-five paces. It is a very short walk. Make those twenty-five steps. Now. Right now. Come just as you are. And we shall live happily ever after."
---
"A writer should have the precision of a poet and the imagination of a scientist."
---
"Curiously enough, one cannot read a book; one can only reread it. A good reader, a major reader, and active and creative reader is a rereader."
---
"A wise reader reads the book of genius not with his heart, not so much with his brain, but with his spine. It is there that occurs the telltale tingle..."
---
"If a violin string could ache, i would be that string."
---
"It's a pity one can't imagine what one can't compare to anything. Genius is an African who dreams up snow."
---
"I think like a genius, I write like a distinguished author, and I speak like a child."
---
"A work of art has no importance whatever to society. It is only important to the individual. "
---
"There is no science without fancy and no art without fact."
---
"One is always at home in one's past..."
---
"Loneliness as a situation can be corrected, but as a state of mind it is an incurable illness."
---