Russian · 1899–1977
Vladimir Nabokov wrote "Lolita" (1955), one of the most controversial and celebrated novels of the twentieth century—a monster's memoir that makes readers complicit through beautiful prose. "Pale Fire" (1962) is a poem with commentary that becomes something stranger. Nabokov was born in Russia, wrote in Russian and English, taught at Cornell, and spent his last years in Switzerland chasing butterflies. His prose is dazzling and ruthless.