Vladimir Nabokov

"Knowing you have something good to read before bed is among the most pleasurable of sensations."

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Source: Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (2008). “The Real Life of Sebastian Knight”, p.105, New Directions Publishing

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Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov

Novelist

Vladimir Nabokov was a Russian-American novelist known for his intricate prose and exploration of themes like love and memory, particularly in 'Lolita'.

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Vladimir Nabokov Novelist

"Toska - noun /ˈtō-skə/ - Russian word roughly translated as sadness, melancholia, lugubriousness. "No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom."

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Vladimir Nabokov Novelist

"Mind you, sometimes the angels smoke, hiding it with their sleeves, and when the archangel comes, they throw the cigarettes away: that’s when you get shooting stars."

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Vladimir Nabokov Novelist

"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta."

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