Think, Write, Speak – Vladimir Nabokov
NF/NF

For sale: a rare first edition, first printing hardcover copy of Think, Write, Speak by Vladimir Nabokov. First Edition stated, 2019 Knopf. First Printing with no subsequent printing.

The exterior of the book is in Fine condition with spotless boards, strong title ink on a straight spine, clean page blocks, tight binding, mild spine tilt, lightly rolled spine ends, no edge wear, and strong corners. The interior of the book is in Near Fine condition with the ghost of an erased price on the first free end paper. No other marks, inscriptions, or any other signs of ownership. The end papers and the interior pages are clean and lightly toned, making it an excellent addition to any collection.

The dust jacket is in Near Fine condition with mild surface and edge wear, and the price intact on the front flap. Striking jacket design by Chip Kidd. Looks great in a new Brodart archival wrap.

“I think like a genius, I write like a distinguished author, and I speak like a child”: so Vladimir Nabokov famously wrote in the introduction to his volume of selected prose, Strong Opinions. Think, Write, Speak follows up where that volume left off, with a rich compilation of his uncollected prose and interviews, from a 1921 essay about Cambridge to two final interviews in 1977. The chronological order allows us to watch the Cambridge student and the fledgling Berlin reviewer and poet turn into the acclaimed Paris émigré novelist whose stature brought him to teach in America, where his international success exploded with Lolita and propelled him back to Europe. Whether his subject is Proust or Pushkin, the sport of boxing or the privileges of democracy, Nabokov’s supreme individuality, his keen wit, and his alertness to the details of life illuminate the page.