Writers

INTERVIEWER

E. M. Forster speaks of his major characters sometimes taking over and dictating the course of his novels. Has this ever been a problem for you, or are you in complete command?

NABOKOV

My knowledge of Mr. Forster’s works is limited to one novel, which I dislike; and anyway, it was not he who fathered that trite little whimsy about... See more

INTERVIEWER

While we are on the subject of the planning of novels, has a novel ever taken an unexpected direction?

FORSTER

Of course, that wonderful thing, a character running away with you—which happens to everyone—that’s happened to me, I’m afraid.

Then I wrote this new novel, My Year of Rest and Relaxation , and it made me insane.

As with all art, whatever I’m working on is influencing my life and my life is influencing what I’m working on. So while I was writing Eileen , my personality shifted and I became... very controlling and oriented toward success.

INTERVIEWER

Do all your characters have real-life models?

FORSTER

In no book have I got down more than the people I like, the person I think I am, and the people who irritate me. This puts me among the large body of authors who are not really novelists and have to get on as best they can with these three categories. We have not the power of observing... See more

I went back to the pension where I was staying and began to read The Metamorphosis . The first line almost knocked me off the bed. I was so surprised. The first line reads, “As Gregor Samsa awoke that morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. . . .” When I read the line I thought to myself that I... See more

INTERVIEWER

How much do you admit to modeling your characters on real people?

FORSTER

We all like to pretend we don’t use real people, but one does actually. I used some of my family. Miss Bartlett was my Aunt Emily—they all read the book but they none of them saw it. Uncle Willie turned into Mrs. Failing. He was a bluff and simple character (... See more

Well, I had no idea that they were really in love until the end. I was writing it so naively. I remember I showed the first couple chapters to someone and they wrote a comment to me back and they were like, ‘McGlue is gay, right?’ And I was like, ‘That’s ridiculous! What a trite way to describe...’ I felt that it was my responsibility to get into... See more

I still felt inspired, and while I work and edit I’m definitely listening to a higher voice that’s outside of my own consciousness, like I’m listening really carefully, so it’s not like I’ve abandoned the spirit world, but I took some more agency and made it more personal, more directly personal.