More Quotes by Vladimir Nabokov
Let all of life be an unfettered howl.
Life is a message scribbled in the dark.
Literature, real literature, must not be gulped down like some potion which may be good for the heart or good for the brain—the brain, that stomach of the soul. Literature must be taken and broken to bits, pulled apart, squashed—then its lovely reek will be smelt in the hollow of the palm, it will be munched and rolled upon the tongue with relish; then, and only then, its rare flavor will be appreciated at its true worth and the broken and crushed parts will again come together in your mind and disclose the beauty of a unity to which you have contributed something of your own blood.
Knowing you have something good to read before bed is among the most pleasurable of sensations.
I have no desires, save the desire to express myself in defiance of all the world’s muteness.
For I do not exist: there exist but the thousands of mirrors that reflect me.
Oh, let me be mawkish for the nonce! I am so tired of being cynical.
Time is rhythm: the insect rhythm of a warm humid night, brain ripple, breathing, the drum in my temple—these are our faithful timekeepers; and reason corrects the feverish beat.
Play! Invent the world! Invent reality!
Do not be angry with the rain; it simply does not know how to fall upwards.
