Review of Nabokov's Lolita (1958).
Context: Many authors write like amateur blacksmiths making their first horseshoe; the clank of the anvil, the stench of the scorched leather apron, the sparks and the cursing are palpable, and this appeals to those who rank "sincerity" very high. Nabokov is more like a master swordsmith making a fine blade; nothing is amiss, nothing is too much, there is no fuss, and the finished product must be handled with great care, or it will cut you badly.
“Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle.”
Cambridge Thirty Years Ago.
Literary Essays, vol. I (1864-1890)
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James Russell Lowell 175
American poet, critic, editor, and diplomat 1819–1891Related quotes

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"Of all the works of man" [Von allen Werken] (c. 1932) in Poems, 1913-1956, p. 192
Poems, 1913-1956 (1976)