--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What did Nabokov and Joyce have in…" description: "\"What did Nabokov and Joyce have in common, apart from the poor teeth and the great prose? Exile, and decades of near pauperism. A compulsive tendency t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b85/martin-amis-704_common_what-did-nabokov-and-joyce-have-in-commo_687555.jpg" --- # What did Nabokov and Joyce have in common, apart from the… ![“What did Nabokov and Joyce have in common, apart from the poor teeth and the great prose? Exile, and decades of near pauperism. A compulsive tendency to overtip. An uxoriousness that their wives deservedly inspired. More than that, they both lived their lives 'beautifully'--not in any Jamesian…” quote by Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b85/martin-amis-704_common_what-did-nabokov-and-joyce-have-in-commo_687555.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b85/martin-amis-704_common_what-did-nabokov-and-joyce-have-in-commo_687555.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b85/martin-amis-704_common_what-did-nabokov-and-joyce-have-in-commo_687555.jpg) > “What did Nabokov and Joyce have in common, apart from the poor teeth and the great prose? Exile, and decades of near pauperism. A compulsive tendency to overtip. An uxoriousness that their wives deservedly inspired. More than that, they both lived their lives 'beautifully'--not in any Jamesian sense (where, besides, ferocious solvency would have been a prerequisite), but in the droll fortitude of their perseverance. They got the work done, with style.” [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nabokov and Joyce shared exile, poverty, a tendency to overtip, and a devotion to their wives, all while producing beautiful, resilient work with style. **In simple terms:** Both writers faced hardship, loved their wives, and created lasting art. Key Takeaway Recognize perseverance amid adversity. Themes hardship artistry marriage perseverance style Mood thoughtful analytical inspirational Type literary historical philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing workshops - literary analysis - historical biography - financial planning for artists Key Concepts exile economic struggle literary dedication spousal devotion Questions to Reflect On - What role does hardship play in creativity? - Can style be maintained without adversity? A Different Perspective Their hardships are romanticized, overlooking personal suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exile/) [Fortitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortitude/) [Perseverance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perseverance/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [What did Nabokov and Joyce have in common, apart from the poor teeth and the great prose? Exile, and decades of near pauperism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/what-did-nabokov-and-joyce-have-in-common-apart-from-the-poor-teeth/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“It is indeed a tricky name. It is often misspelt, because the eye tends to regard the "a" of the first syllable as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/it-is-indeed-a-tricky-name-it-is-often-misspelt-because-the-eye-tends/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“I told them what I had discovered about Nabokov's sentences: Because the word string and the thoughts behind the words are so original, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniels-leslie/i-told-them-what-i-had-discovered-about-nabokov-s-sentences-because/) Daniels, Leslie > [Vladimir Nabokov on 'Bleak House' or Henry James on 'The House of the Seven Gables' prove that reading can be an exciting subject in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/vladimir-nabokov-on-bleak-house-or-henry-james-on-the-house-of-the/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [“You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style." —Vladimir Nabokov”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-langtry/you-can-always-count-on-a-murderer-for-a-fancy-prose-style-vladimir/) [Leslie Langtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-langtry/) > [In the reading and writing life, delight, for me, is where the mystery lies. Easy enough to figure out how scenes of violence or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/in-the-reading-and-writing-life-delight-for-me-is-where-the-mystery/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [Popper and Nabokov are very different people in some ways - and I'm ready to devote large chunks of my life to both of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/popper-and-nabokov-are-very-different-people-in-some-ways-and-i-m/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [Vladimir Nabokov said the two great evils of the 20th century were Marx and Freud. He was absolutely correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/vladimir-nabokov-said-the-two-great-evils-of-the-20th-century-were/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“Nabokov complained he was afflicted with total recall, an affliction of which he could be miraculously cured by the presence of a biographer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/nabokov-complained-he-was-afflicted-with-total-recall-an-affliction/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [“I fear no hell, just as I expect no heaven. Nabokov summed up a nonbeliever’s view of the cosmos, and our place in it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-tayler/i-fear-no-hell-just-as-i-expect-no-heaven-nabokov-summed-up-a/) [Jeffrey Tayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-tayler/) > [After so many attempts to mount a musical version of 'Lolita,' the project was well and truly dead by the summer of 1971. 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Unless I inform you otherwise, I'm always smoking another cigarette.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/yeah-i-said-and-started-smoking-another-cigarette-unless-i-inform-you/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“barrios; each barrio has two or three gangs, and all the gangs are theoretically”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/barrios-each-barrio-has-two-or-three-gangs-and-all-the-gangs-are/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“If we all downed tools and joined hands for ten minutes and stopped believing in money, then money would no longer exist. 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