Despite our tiffs, despite her nastiness, despite all the fuss and faces she made, and the vulgarity, and the danger, and the horrible hopelessness of it all, I still dwelled deep in my elected paradise – a paradise whose skies were the color of hell-flames – but still a paradise.
Vladimir Nabokov
Paradise Struggle, Emotional Chaos, Love Resilience, Struggle, Chaos, Resilience
Vladimir Nabokov’s Quotes On Topics
Lightheadedness | Naive Pervert | Comic | Urgent Steps | Balanced Life | Bitter Part | Mortality Belief | Looks | Self-Dignity | Writing Reflection | Idiotic Approach | Insipid Idleness | Dusk Symbolism | Mood | Nature Life | Heartbreak Empathy | Cells | Prayer | Poetic Superstition | Mortal Home | More
More Vladimir Nabokov Quotes
“Blue evenings in Berlin, the corner chestnut in flower, light-headedness, poverty, love, the tangerine tinge of premature shoplights, and an animal aching yearn for the still fresh reek of Russia...” Vladimir Nabokov
Berlin Love, Poverty Yearning, Lightheadedness, Evening, Memory, Emotion
Vladimir Nabokov Berlin Love, Poverty Yearning, Lightheadedness, Evening, Memory, Emotion“I had possessed her – and she never knew it.” Vladimir Nabokov
Unspoken Possession, Hidden Love, Emotional Secret, Possession, Love, Secret
Vladimir Nabokov Unspoken Possession, Hidden Love, Emotional Secret, Possession, Love, Secret“Unfortunately his urge to write had suddenly petered out and he did not know what to do with himself. He was not sleepy having slept after dinner. The brandy only added to the nuisance. He was a big heavy man of the hairy sort with a somewhat Beethovenlike face. He had lost his wife in November. He had taught philosophy. He was exceedingly virile. His name was Adam Krug.” Vladimir Nabokov
Writing Struggle, Philosophy Loss, Brandy, Reflection, Man, Change
Vladimir Nabokov Writing Struggle, Philosophy Loss, Brandy, Reflection, Man, Change“To the sound of this voice, to the music of the chessboard’s evil lure, Luzhin recalled, with the exquisite, moist melancholy peculiar to recollections of love, a thousand games that he had played in the past... There were combinations, pure and harmonious, where thought ascended marble stairs to victory; there were tender stirrings in one corner of the board, and a passionate explosion, and the fanfare of the Queen going to its sacrificial doom.” Vladimir Nabokov
Chess Reflection, Emotional Melancholy, Literary Lure, Reflection, Melancholy, Lure
Vladimir Nabokov Chess Reflection, Emotional Melancholy, Literary Lure, Reflection, Melancholy, Lure“Remembrance, like Rembrandt, is dark but festive. Remembered ones dress up for the occasion and sit still. Memory is a photo studio de luxe on an infinite Fifth Power Avenue.” Vladimir Nabokov
Memory Imagery, Rembrandt Reflection, Photographic Memory, Imagery, Reflection, Memory
Vladimir Nabokov Memory Imagery, Rembrandt Reflection, Photographic Memory, Imagery, Reflection, Memory“I long for some terrific disaster. Earthquake. Spectacular explosion. Her mother is messily but instantly and permanently eliminated, along with everybody else for miles around.” Vladimir Nabokov
Disaster Explosion, Terrific Tragedy, Instant Elimination, Destruction, Chaos, Death
Vladimir Nabokov Disaster Explosion, Terrific Tragedy, Instant Elimination, Destruction, Chaos, Death“A thousand years ago five minutes were Equal to forty ounces of fine sand. Outstare the stars. Infinite foretime and Infinite aftertime: above your head They close like giant wings, and you are dead.” Vladimir Nabokov
Time, Eternity, Stars, Philosophy, Mortality, Concept
Vladimir Nabokov Time, Eternity, Stars, Philosophy, Mortality, Concept“I have never seen a more lucid, better balanced, mad mind than mine.” Vladimir Nabokov
Mind Clarity, Sanity, Genius, Self, Reflection, Balance
Vladimir Nabokov Mind Clarity, Sanity, Genius, Self, Reflection, Balance“With the ebb of lust, an ashen sense of awfulness, abetted by the realistic drabness of a grey neuralgic day, crept over me and hummed within my temples.” Vladimir Nabokov
Ebb Of Lust, Neuralgic Day, Awful Drabness, Lust, Awfulness, Day
Vladimir Nabokov Ebb Of Lust, Neuralgic Day, Awful Drabness, Lust, Awfulness, Day“I would fight of course. Oh, I would fight. Better destroy everything than surrender her.” Vladimir Nabokov
Fight For Love, Emotional Battle, Surrender Refusal, Love, Battle, Refusal
Vladimir Nabokov Fight For Love, Emotional Battle, Surrender Refusal, Love, Battle, Refusal“At a very early stage of the novel’s development I get this urge to collect bits of straw and fluff, and to eat pebbles. Nobody will ever discover how clearly a bird visualizes, or if it visualizes at all, the future nest and the eggs in it.” Vladimir Nabokov
Novel Development, Imaginary Urges, Future Visualization, Development, Urges, Visualization
Vladimir Nabokov Novel Development, Imaginary Urges, Future Visualization, Development, Urges, Visualization“Freedom for the moment is everything.” Vladimir Nabokov
Momentary Freedom, Absolute Value, Living Now, Freedom, Life, Moment
Vladimir Nabokov Momentary Freedom, Absolute Value, Living Now, Freedom, Life, Moment“All my stories are webs of style and none seems at first blush to contain much kinetic matter. For me style is matter.” Vladimir Nabokov
Stylistic Webs, Kinetic Matter, Storytelling Style, Webs, Matter, Style
Vladimir Nabokov Stylistic Webs, Kinetic Matter, Storytelling Style, Webs, Matter, Style“She wrote poetry. She was poetically superstitious. She said she knew she would die soon after my sixteenth birthday, and did.” Vladimir Nabokov
Poetic Superstition, Death Prediction, Poetic Writing, Superstition, Prediction, Writing
Vladimir Nabokov Poetic Superstition, Death Prediction, Poetic Writing, Superstition, Prediction, Writing“Why do those people guess so much and shave so little, and are so disdainful of hearing aids?” Vladimir Nabokov
Guessing People, Hearing Disdain, Unnecessary Shaving, Guessing, Disdain, Shaving
Vladimir Nabokov Guessing People, Hearing Disdain, Unnecessary Shaving, Guessing, Disdain, Shaving“And presently I was driving through the drizzle of the dying day, with the windshield wipers in full action but unable to cope with my tears.” Vladimir Nabokov
Tears Grief, Driving Solitude, Day Reflection, Emotion, Sorrow, Loss
Vladimir Nabokov Tears Grief, Driving Solitude, Day Reflection, Emotion, Sorrow, Loss“One thing should be established once for all, indefeasibly. I loved, love, and shall love only you. I implore you and love you with everlasting pain and passion, my darling.” Vladimir Nabokov
Love, Passion, Pain, Commitment, Forever, Emotion
Vladimir Nabokov Love, Passion, Pain, Commitment, Forever, Emotion“My little cup brims with tiddles.” Vladimir Nabokov
Tiddles Cup, Little Cup, Small Delights, Cup, Delights, Small
Vladimir Nabokov Tiddles Cup, Little Cup, Small Delights, Cup, Delights, Small