Ever since the days when such formidable mediocrities as…
““Ever since the days when such formidable mediocrities as Galsworthy, Dreiser, Tagore, Maxim Gorky, Romain Rolland and Thomas Mann were being accepted as geniuses, I have been perplexed and amused by fabricated notions about so-called "great books." That, for instance, Mann's asinine "Death in Venice," or Pasternak's melodramatic, vilely written "Dr. Zhivago," or Faulkner's corn-cobby chronicles can be considered "masterpieces" or at least what journalists term "great books," is to me the sort of absurd delusion as when a hypnotized person makes love to a chair. My greatest masterpieces of twentieth century prose are, in this order: Joyce's "Ulysses"; Kafka's "Transformation"; Bely's "St. Petersburg," and the first half of Proust's fairy tale, "In Search of Lost Time.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Nabokov critiques the arbitrary labeling of certain works as “great,” arguing that true literary merit is subjective and often misassigned by cultural consensus.
In simple terms: He questions why some books are praised while others are dismissed.
Key Takeaway
Question personal taste over popular opinion.
Themes
literary criticism
subjectivity
canon formation
Mood
skeptical
reflective
Type
analytical
critical
When to use this quote
- book clubs
- academic curricula
- personal reading lists
Key Concepts
aesthetic judgment
cultural authority
subjective taste
Questions to Reflect On
- What determines a book’s greatness?
- How do personal biases affect literary evaluation?
A Different Perspective
Literary consensus can be influenced by trends and institutions.