Speak, Memory--Ch. 14

"Across the dark sky of exile, Sirin passed, to use a simile of a more conservative nature, like a meteor, and disappeared, leaving nothing much else behind him than a vague sense of uneasiness." --Vladimir Nabokov, page 288

In this chapter, Nabokov skips from subject to subject, as usual, to lead us into the final chapter of his autobiography. I've admired how well he can look back at the people he has known in his life throughout this whole book--and this sentence is just one more example of that. I really like his memories of other writers and their work, and how he admires them. This is another beautiful metaphor in this piece. I also love the artful way he describes chess in this chapter. I'm sure Sirin would love to read this beautiful summation of himself by Nabokov. I'm hoping that if I keep writing, once I've put some more years behind me, I will also have this gift of looking back and lifting up into art the experiences, people, and places of my life.