QuoteProject
A masterpiece of fiction is an original world and as such is not likely to fit the world of the reader.
Vladimir Nabokov
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

A great work of fiction creates a unique universe that may not resonate with every reader's experiences.

This quote by Vladimir Nabokov emphasizes the idea that a true masterpiece of fiction constructs a distinct world that is often separate from the reality and experiences of its readers. It suggests that to fully appreciate such a work, readers may need to step outside their familiar perspectives and embrace the originality and uniqueness of the fictional universe presented to them.

Themes

FictionMasterpieceOriginalityWorldReader

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be used in a discussion about the importance of imagination in literature.

More from Vladimir Nabokov

My only grudge against nature was that I could not turn my Lolita inside out and apply voracious lips to her young matrix, her unknown heart, her nacreous liver, the sea-grapes of her lungs, her comely twin kidneys.
Vladimir NabokovRead
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.
Vladimir NabokovRead
A change of environment is the traditional fallacy upon which doomed loves, and lungs, rely.
Vladimir NabokovRead
But that mimosa grove-the haze of stars, the tingle, the flame, the honey-dew, and the ache remained with me, and that little girl with her seaside limbs and ardent tongue haunted me ever since-until at last, twenty-four years later, I broke her spell by incarnating her in another.
Vladimir NabokovRead
...in my dreams the world would come alive, becoming so captivatingly majestic, free and ethereal, that afterwards it would be oppressive to breathe the dust of this painted life.
Vladimir NabokovRead
I believe the poor fierce-eyed child had figured out that with a mere fifty dollars in her purse she might somehow reach Broadway or Hollywood - or the foul kitchen of a diner (Help Wanted) in a dismal ex-prairie state, with the wind blowing, and the stars blinking, and the cars, and the bars, and the barmen, and everything soiled, torn, dead.
Vladimir NabokovRead

Similar quotes

No matter where I am working, I cannot make a film without 100% creative control and final cut. If there is such a guarantee, I can work anywhere.
Bong Joon-HoRead
What makes literature interesting is that it does not survive its translation. The characters in a novel are made out of the sentences. That's what their substance is.
Jonathan MillerRead
When I read Shakespeare I am struck with wonder that such trivial people should muse and thunder in such lovely language.
D. H. LawrenceRead
No matter how many times you do it, you don't get used to the sadness - for me at least - of coming to the end of a film.
Paul Thomas AndersonRead
Drama, instead of telling us the whole of a man's life, must place him in such a situation, tie such a knot, that when it is untied, the whole man is visible.
Leo TolstoyRead
Literature has become my life.
Mikhail BulgakovRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.