Essays on Vladimir Nabokov

April 22, 1899, Saint Petersburg, Russia

July 2, 1977, Montreux, Switzerland

Novelist, Professor

• The Defense (1930)
• Despair (1934)
• Invitation to a Beheading (1936)
• The Gift (1938)
• "Signs and Symbols" (1948)
• Lolita (1955)
• Pnin (1957)
• Pale Fire (1962)
• Speak, Memory (1936–1966)
• Ada or Ardor (1969)

• "You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style."
• "It was love at first sight, at last sight, at ever and ever sight."
• "The breaking of a wave cannot explain the whole sea."

22 April, 1899 – 2 July, 1977

Vladimir Nabokov, also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin, was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Born in Russia, he wrote his first nine novels in Russian (1926–1938) while living in Berlin. He achieved international acclaim and prominence after moving to the United States and beginning to write in English. Nabokov was also an expert lepidopterist and composer of chess problems.

The Defense (1930), Despair (1934), Invitation to a Beheading (1936), The Gift (1938), The Enchanter (1939), "Signs and Symbols" (1948), Lolita (1955), Pnin (1957), Pale Fire (1962), Speak, Memory (1936–1966), Ada or Ardor (1969)

In his novels Nabokov touches on some of the biggest topics: love, death, time, and madness.

Nabokov's style is noted for his complex plots, clever word play, daring metaphors, and prose style capable of both parody and intense lyricism.

Vladimir Nabokov will go down as one of the greatest original writers ever. He is the man who penned the most controversial novel of the 20th century, a book that has been termed both "the only convincing love story of our century" and "pornography," and still causes controversy 50 years after its release.

“Our imagination flies - we are its shadow on the earth.”
“I think it is all a matter of love; the more you love a memory the stronger and stranger it becomes”
“Let all of life be an unfettered howl. Like the crowd greeting the gladiator. Don't stop to think, don't interrupt the scream, exhale, release life's rapture.”