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Nabokov's Butterfly: And Other Stories of Great Authors and Rare Books

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Nabokov's Butterfly is a short but delightful book about some of Rick Gekoski's most memorable moments as a rare book dealer and collector. I particularly enjoyed the segments where Gekoski describes his personal friendships and contacts with some of the authors. I was amazed at some of the prices he has received for some books, and interested to see how authors go in and out of fashion, so that someone no one bothered to collect twenty years ago can suddenly become highly collectable and extremely expensive. (And enormously profitable to those far sighted enough to collect them ahead of time!)

This book is about both the love of book collecting and the art of selling them. While personally I doubt I could ever bear to sell some of the volumes Gekoski deals with if I were lucky enough to have them in my possession, I enjoyed this glimpse into what has obviously been a fascinating career.

Rick Gekoski's book is much better than similar titles in the "let me tell you about the great books I've found" genre. Unlike David Meyer's *Memoirs of a Book Snake* or John Baxter's *A Pound of Paper*, which lean toward autobiography, Gekoski focuses primarily on the twenty books at hand. Each chapter details the publishing history of a classic (*Ulysses*, *The Catcher in the Rye*, *Lord of the Flies*, *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, *The Hobbit*, etc.), including the politics, frustrations, and joys involved in bringing a text to life. Gekoski does provide the occasional book hunter's tale, but keeps his eye on the book at hand and restrains from self-promotion. I did not keep the books mentioned above, but will happily place this book on my shelf next to two of my favorites: Robert Wilson's <em>Modern Book Collecting* and Nicholas Basbanes's *Among the Gently Mad*. A fun and educational read!

Having just started a course in Rare Books and Manuscripts, I picked up this book on a whim and am happy to report that it is a great read for anyone interested in the goings-on of book dealers and collectors. This book is especially for anyone who takes interest in contemporary authors (the accounts of J.D. Salinger, Graham Greene, Salman Rushdie etc., are fascinating!). It's a book for people who are interested in the details of the book as an object itself -what makes an edition unique or valuable-, and might interest anyone who thinks they may have some old, valuable books sitting around in their basements. Gegoski is a skilled storyteller, it's one of the fastest reads I've done in a long time. I'd definitely read a second volume if he has any more stories to share in the future...

This is a stand-out entry in the genre of "Books about Books". The author Rick Gekoski is an American who went to the U.K. for post-graduate education and ended up staying there, first as a university lecturer in English literature and then as a rare book dealer specializing in 20th-Century English literature. In NABOKOV'S BUTTERLY, Gekoski writes about twenty landmark or otherwise rare works of 20th-Century English literature from the two perspectives in which he has particular expertise: rare book dealer and lecturer in English literature. Thus, more so than any other book I can think of, NABOKOV'S BUTTERFLY is a hybrid between a book about the rare book trade and one of commentary about works of literature and noted authors.

As a rare book dealer Gekoski personally handled many of the books or other items (for example, J.R.R. Tolkien's academic gown from Merton College, Oxford) discussed in the book, and he personally knew or dealt with some of the authors or other literary figures who are discussed. To give you a better idea of the scope of the book, here are a few more of its subjects (in addition to "Tolkien's Gown", which was the title of the book as originally published in the U.K.):

* A copy of the original Paris edition of Nabokov's "Lolita," inscribed by Nabokov to Graham Greene (an inscription that includes a characteristically enchanting drawing of a butterfly) -- an item that Greene sold to Gekoski and which he in turn sold to Bernie Taupin.

* The holograph manuscript of William Golding's "Lord of the Flies," which Golding had written in school exercise books and kept in a safety deposit box.

* The archive of biographical materials that Ian Hamilton assembled during his research for a biography of J.D. Salinger, which was suppressed as a result of a lawsuit initiated by Salinger (who then also threatened to sue Gekoski for acting as the broker of Hamilton's archive).

* The American edition of "The Colossus and Other Poems" by Sylvia Plath, inscribed by her to her husband Ted Hughes seven months before her suicide (an inscription that also referred to her father and psychological vexation Otto).

Best of all, Gekoski himself is a fine writer. NABOKOV'S BUTTERFLY is highly literate yet at all times engaging and it often is witty. The book includes some intelligent commentary on several classics or near-classics (e.g., "A Confederacy of the Dunces" and "Animal Farm"), as well as a number of anecdotes about various literary luminaries. An example of the latter is from Gekoski's first meeting with Graham Greene (with whom he became good friends):

"We spent most of [the] next few hours talking about Conrad and Henry James. I think he began to take me seriously when I said that I thought that Henry James was funny, and couldn't understand why no one else did. He agreed wholeheartedly. We drank another vodka, in total critical harmony. 'I'm not in that league,' Greene said, with the conviction of someone who had thought a lot, reached the truth, and did not regret it. 'Conrad and James were Grade A novelists. I'm Grade B.' We had a final vodka in his honour: Grade B was pretty respectable, we reckoned."

In the past two years I read two other items from the "Books about Books" genre -- "Books: A Memoir" by Larry McMurtry and "The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop" by Lewis Buzbee -- that received numerous accolades from other Amazon reviewers but in truth do not hold a candle to NABOKOV'S BUTTERFLY. I fear the book has been poorly handled and under-promoted by its American publisher(s). In any event, if your interests run either to the rare book trade or to 20th-Century English literature, I am confident that you will not regret seeking out and reading NABOKOV'S BUTTERFLY.

This was published in the UK under the title, "Tolkien's Gown & Other Stories of Great Authors and Rare Books." (Why is it different in the US? Haven't people heard of Tolkien there?)

This book is written by a rare book dealer, and contains stories about 20 different books - concerning either particular copies that the author has handled, or else how the books were written and/or published. Though I had only read five of the books mentioned, but I still enjoyed every chapter.

Gekoski can be somewhat abrasive. He was, in fact, parodied by William Golding, and nearly sued by J. D. Salinger. In his chapter on Sylvia Plath, Gekoski quotes an entry from one of his catalogues concerning an inscribed first edition of her The Colossus and Other Poems, and proceeds to remark that if you "don't immediately feel how exciting this book is," then not only do you not have the makings of a book collector, but he wouldn't like you very much.

He has, however, some very wise things to say: Enid Blyton, he notes, is part of England's cultural heritage, rather than its literary one. "If you like Enid Blyton better than Tolkien, that's fine with me; if you think she is a better writer than Tolkien, you're either a very unsophisticated child, or an idiot."

This book is a compilation of stories by a book collector about such classics as: Lolita, The Catcher in the Rye, and On the Road. Even if you're not a book collector you'll be amazed at the amount of money people are willing to spend on manuscripts and signed first editions. It's very interesting! The best part about this book is that Mr. Gekoski writes a short biography about each book. I guess it would be a bookography wouldn't it? Anyway, if you're a writer or aspire to be one, you'll find that even the giants of literature didn't have such an easy job getting what we now consider classics published. This is a fantastic read and I can't say enough about how interesting it is. Double points for it being written so well! Good job, Mr. Gekoski, please write more!

Last year a beautiful book became available that was apparently missed by many. Maybe it was because of length, numbering some eight hundred pages; maybe it was the unknown author, Vladimir Nabokov, whose name was unable to stir emotions in readers, prompting them to out and acquire this book; or maybe it was the title, Nabokov's Butterflies, and this accusation (not to mention the picture of butterflies on the cover) that led the reader to steer clear of this book.

Some thought the collection entailed poems and excerpts, but mostly boring and pointless stories about butterflies and their scientific aspect. People who fall into any of the above categories made a big mistake, and for the ones who never heard about the book: read further and then make a serious decision about acquiring this piece of unique literature.

Vladimir Nabokov was born in Russia and from an early age fell in love with butterflies. "If my first glance of the morning was for the sun, my first thought was for the butterflies it would engender," writes Nabokov in an excerpt from his autobiography. Also, at this age, Nabokov began writing poems and stories, and then he turned to novels about butterflies. He is also the creator of stories where butterflies are incorporated into the general fiction as a metaphor or some decide to enhance an aspect about the character or point about the plot, this making the story poignant in a never before seen way.

In the story "Pale Fire," the first of one of the stanzas in a poem is: "Another winter was scrape-scooped away." The writing is just so fresh, aching with beautiful language that stirs up emotions and renders one simply in awe with this awesome prose. Another line of wisdom from Nabokov: "Whichever subject you have chosen, you must realize that knowledge of it is limitless," from one of his lectures on writing. So this is isn't just an anthology of poems and stories about butterflies, but a collection containing the jewels of information that will benefit everyone.

In this anthology you will find a piece of everything that Nabokov did: excerpts from novels (including Lolita, his most famous piece of work), novellas, poems, notes, letters, lecture notes, diary entries, reviews, interviews, articles, even minutes from the Cambridge Entomological Club. Amongst this plethora of material, there are also pieces that have never been published before, such as excerpts from the Lolita screenplay (Stanley Kubrick's version), the second addendum to his story "The Gift," and draft notes from an unfinished novel, The Butterflies of Europe. Finally, there are many sketches and drawings of butterflies by the author, some in color, others in an array of colors, all overflowing in stark detail and beauty, revealing another unknown talent of the author.

In Brian Boyd's introduction, "Nabokov, Literature, Lepidoptera," he compares Nabokov to Beckett, calling their visions polar opposites - Beckett is polar while Nabokov is tropical - "Nabokov saw life as a `great surprise' amid great surprises."

Vladimir Nabokov's son, Dmitri, who plays a vital part in this anthology, translating Russian pieces to English that have never been translated before, writes in his diary on July 21, 1977, shortly before Nabokov died: "A few days before he died there was a moment I remember with special clarity. During the penultimate farewell, after I had kissed his still-warm forehead - as I had for years when saying goodbye - tears suddenly welled in Father's eyes. I asked him why. He replied that certain butterfly was already on the wing; and his eyes told me he no longer hoped that he would live to pursue it again."

So go out and get a hold of a copy of Nabokov's Butterflies and you will be taken to a world you did not know existed, where butterflies are your guides, poems are your walking sticks, novel excerpts your pathways, and the rest completes this rich tapestry of magnificence. You will go away as a wiser and more enlightened person with a great feeling to be owning this admirable and useful piece of literature.

Originally published on February 5th 2001 ©Alex C. Telander.

Originally published in the Long Beach Union.

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This book was not only entertaining but also educational. The writer is charming as he relates his book dealing experiences with some of the most famous writers of the 20th century.