Strong opinions
by Vladimir Nabokov · first published 1973
5mentions
2recommended by
5HN commenters
2012–2025first – last mentioned
40% recommend60% neutral
In this collection of interviews, articles, and editorials, Nabokov ranges over his life, art, education, politics, literature, movies, and modern times, among other subjects. Strong Opinions offers his trenchant, witty, and always engaging views on everything from the Russian Revolution to the correct pronunciation of Lolita.
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…You asked for books that might help. I’m not sure what your project involves, but I can suggest a few that I have enjoyed. How to Write a Thesis and Six Walks in the Fictional Woods by Umberto Eco. Strong Opinions by Vladimir Nabokov.
on “Ask HN: Finally ready to share my personal work, how to manage expectations?” ↗…and delicate that it can't be stuffed into one of predefined expected reactions. A lot of much stronger criticism have already been written, too. One might point to such “hits” as Vladimir Nabokov's “Strong Opinions” and lectures on literature, although the suit of renowned writer and lecturer was perhaps a bit too bronzy, while in reviews read by a small circle of Russian-speaking emigrants in Europe (collected…
on “The new literalism plaguing today’s movies” ↗On the other hand: In an interview (maybe reproduced in Strong Opinions?), Nabokov explains his theory that the origins of dreams are the visual patterns produced by the eye in darkness and interpreted by the sleeping brain.
on “A forgotten theory of dreams that inspired Vladimir Nabokov” ↗…you could infer how much mental horsepower they had [1]: " "Spontaneous eloquence seems to me a miracle," confessed Vladimir Nabokov in 1962. He took up the point more personally in his foreword to Strong Opinions (1973): "I have never delivered to my audience one scrap of information not prepared in typescript beforehand … My hemmings and hawings over the telephone cause long-distance callers to switch from their…
on “Writing and Speaking” ↗Vladimir Nabokov's opinions on various writers, culled from Strong Opinions. (http://wmjas.wikidot.com/nabokov-s-recommendations) * James, Henry. Dislike him rather intensely, but now and then his wording causes a kind of electric tingle. Certainly not a genius.
on “The Art of the Critic” ↗