How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Among the anomalies of a memory, whose possessor and victim should never have tried to become an autobiographer, the worst is the inclination to equate in retrospect my age with that of the century. (Foreword.8)
Here, Nabokov's cautioning us that his history isn't everybody's. Well, duh. But how can an individual's story change our understanding of history?
Quote #2
Judging by the strong sunlight that, when I think of that revelation, immediately invades my memory with lobed sun flecks through overlapping patterns of greenery, the occasion may have been my mother's birthday, in late summer, in the country, and I had asked questions and had assessed the answers I received. (1.1.5)
This is a master-of-memory technique (but do try this at home): Nabokov can connect the quality of light to the time of year, and then place his recollection in time. And you thought you were clever when you downloaded Timehop.
Quote #3
Judging by the strong sunlight that, when I think of that revelation, immediately invades my memory with lobed sun flecks through overlapping patterns of greenery, the occasion may have been my mother's birthday, in late summer, in the country, and I had asked questions and had assessed the answers I received. (1.1.5)
This is a master-of-memory technique (but do try this at home): Nabokov can connect the quality of light to the time of year, and then place his recollection in time. And you thought you were clever when you downloaded Timehop.