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Brian Boyd

Vladimir Nabokov

Nabokov's Butterflies: Unpublished and Uncollected Writings Hardcover – January 1, 2000

by Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (Author), Robert Michael Pyle (Editor), Brian Boyd (Editor),

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Newly translated works by Nabokov on the twin passions of his life, literature and lepidoptera. A rich array of never-before-seen Nabokovia: novels, stories, poems, autobiography, interviews, diaries, and more, plus scientific and fanciful drawings by Nabokov and photographs of him in the field. The text--the richest and most varied assemblage of Nabokov's writing's available--is arranged chronologically and introduced by Brian Boyd and Robert Michael Pyle

Print length

782 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Beacon Pr
Publication date

January 1, 2000
Dimensions

7.25 x 2 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

0807085405
ISBN-13

978-0807085400
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Admirers of the great novelist Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977) know that collecting and classifying butterflies was for him not so much a hobby as an obsession, especially during the 1940s, when he worked for Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology and made important discoveries about the American genera known as Blues. Butterfly-linked images and ideas pervade some of his fiction, and butterfly-collecting expeditions took up much of his free time. Nabokov biographer Boyd and butterfly expert Pyle team up to offer a gigantic compendium of butterfly-relevant Nabokoviana. Reprinted here are draft reminiscences later revised for the autobiography Speak, Memory; the 1920 technical paper "A Few Notes on Crimean Lepidoptera"; selected parts of the later scientific and technical work; numerous poems with butterfly-related lines, some in English, some translated from Russian; Nabokov's last short story, "The Admirable Anglewing"; excerpts from letters and interviews; notes for the New Yorker ("Incidentally, pinching the thorax is a much simpler way of dispatching a butterfly") and segments of Nabokov's lecture notes; and lepidopteran passages from the novels and stories. Among the previously unpublished works, one standout is the 36-page essay (originally in Russian) that Nabokov meant to use as the afterword to The Gift. Also present are the surviving fragments of Nabokov's never-completed descriptive catalogue, Butterflies of Europe. Boyd and Pyle contribute separate, informative and sometimes parallel introductions. Not even a Nabokov-obsessed taxonomist would want to read this collection from start to finish: it is, though, a volume devotees will delight to browse in and scholars will want to own. 30 color and 30 b&w illus. Agent, Georges Borchardt. (Apr.) FYI: For more information on Nabokov's Butterflies, see Book News, Feb. 28.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The recent publication of Kurt Johnson and Steven L. Coates's Nabokov's Blues (LJ 10/15/99) brought to light Nabokov's expertise in the study of butterflies. The distinction of this new volume is that it contains never-before-seen writings by Nabokov on the subject. The book includes poems, letters, diary entries, interviews, and technical articles that combine the author's passions for science and literature. Nabokov biographer Boyd provides a lengthy introduction that places Nabokov's studies within the context of his life. Nabokov's son Dmitri presents a new translation, from the original Russian, of "Father's Butterflies," a 36-page afterword to The Gift. Also translated are 12 poems that had been unavailable in English. For the specialist or the reader wanting to learn more about the scientific side of Nabokov's life, there is much here to discover. Recommended for academic libraries.
-Ronald Ray Ratliff, Emporia P.L., KS
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Scientific American

Most readers of Nabokov (the Russian-American author of Lolita and other highly regarded works of fiction) know that he was interested in butterflies, but it is doubtful that many of them are aware that the level of his knowledge and his contributions to the field won the respect of professional lepidopterists. Nabokov himself showed the depth of his work in a letter of 1943 to literary critic Edmund Wilson. "A summary of part of my scientific work on the Blues (the Lycaeides genus-"Silver Studded Blues" in English) ... is due to appear in a week or two. The labour involved has been immense; the number of my index cards exceeds a thousand references-for half a dozen (very polytypic) species; I have dissected and drawn the genitalia of 360 specimens and unraveled taxonomic adventures that read like a novel." The book that Boyd and Pyle have put together gives a good picture of Nabokov's lepidoptery and reproduces many of his drawings. It also offers much else in letters from and to him about a variety of topics, in excerpts from interviews he gave, and in his poems and prose on subjects other than butterflies. An excellent companion to this compilation is Nabokov's Blues: The Scientific Odyssey of a Literary Genius, by Kurt Johnson, a lepidopterist who occupied Nabokov's former office at the American Museum of Natural History, and writer Steven Coates (published in 1999 by Zoland Books in Cambridge, Mass.).

EDITORS OF SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

From Booklist

Nabokov's achievements as a lepidopterist are finally being accorded the respect they deserve. Nabokov's Blues assessed his contributions to science, and now this literary cornucopia illuminates further his lifelong love affair with butterflies and the fruits of his many years in the field and laboratory. In an introductory essay, Brian Boyd, Nabokov's biographer, scrutinizes Nabokov's fascination with patterns and metamorphosis; his penchant for solitude, delight in discovery; and his sensitivity to beauty, themes that arise naturally in Nabokov's own writings--nearly 70 years' worth of memoir, fiction, poetry, letters, lectures, diary entries, and scientific articles never before available to the general reader. In one indelible essay, Nabokov observed that he has hunted butterflies "as a pretty boy in knickerbockers and sailor cap; as a lanky cosmopolitan expatriate in flannel bags and beret; as a fat hairless old man in shorts," and each of these incarnations is present here. Brilliant and playful, Nabokov brought artistic sensuousness to science, and scientific accuracy to literature, enriching both and leaving his readers in awe. Donna Seaman

Review

"Reading about [Nabokov's] exploits in this very rich book delighted me...a pleasure to read...like some dream holiday or journey to another land." -- John Fowles in The Spectator, 15 April 2000

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Vladimir Nabokov

From notes for interview with Jacob Bronowski, August 1963 For an interview scheduled for British television but canceled before filming because of Bronowski's health.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Beacon Pr; First Edition (January 1, 2000)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 782 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0807085405
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0807085400
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.7 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.25 x 2 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #697,851 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,197 in Zoology (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.7 17 ratings

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About the authors

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Brian Boyd
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Brian Boyd, University Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, has published on American, Brazilian, English, Greek, Irish, New Zealand and Russian literature, from Homer to the present and from child to adult, and on biography, comics, drama, essays, fiction, film, literary theory, poetry, philosophy, science, and translation. His writing has appeared in eighteen languages and has won awards in four continents.
He has worked especially on Vladimir Nabokov, as annotator (see AdaOnline, http://www.ada.auckland.ac.nz/), archivist, bibliographer, biographer, consultant, critic, donor, editor, expert witness, historian, lecturer, lepidopterist, museum advisor, negotiator, reviewer, supervisor, teacher, translator. Most recent: Letters to Véra, co-edited and co-translated with Olga Voronina.
He also works on literature and evolution, including his recent Why Lyrics Last: Evolution, Cognition, and Shakespeare's Sonnets (Harvard University Press, 2012).
His other Shakespeare work includes Words That Count (University of Delaware Press, 2004).
He is currently researching and writing Karl Popper: A Life.
For key publications, see http://www.arts.auckland.ac.nz/staff/index.cfm?P=3566
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Vladimir Nabokov
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Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was born on April 23, 1899, in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Nabokov household was trilingual, and as a young man, he studied Slavic and romance languages at Trinity College, Cambridge, taking his honors degree in 1922. For the next eighteen years he lived in Berlin and Paris, writing prolifically in Russian under the pseudonym Sirin and supporting himself through translations, lessons in English and tennis, and by composing the first crossword puzzles in Russian. In 1925 he married Vera Slonim, with whom he had one child, a son, Dmitri. Having already fled Russia and Germany, Nabokov became a refugee once more in 1940, when he was forced to leave France for the United States. There he taught at Wellesley, Harvard, and Cornell. He also gave up writing in Russian and began composing ficticvbn ral books of criticism. Vladimir Nabokov died in Montreux, Switzerland, in 1977.
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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

17 global ratings

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4 star		18%
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Michelle

Love this book!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 3, 2023

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Great condition. Great read! Love it!

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Johnny Pistachio

For the price of a 2nd-hand, it was great!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 1, 2019

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A very-slight rip on the slip-cover. No big deal- it shows that the book has been handled if not read.
But this book is more than I expected - a tome or some sort of PhD thesis.
But fits in well with all things Nabokov.
My young friend Dolores Haze will be pleased with it, I hope!

One person found this helpful

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dandylion001

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 20, 2000

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Pick up this book, open it to any page and begin reading. You won't be able to put it down. From "Laughter," a poem as lovely and delicate as the azure it honors, to the detailed drawings, artistic renderings, and delightful writings, it soon becomes obvious that Nabokov saw a universe in a butterfly's wing. How fortunate we are that he left this magnificent record of his thought and activity. Begin reading anywhere and soon you will be drawn into his world, a world always colored by the butterflies and moths that were his passion. Now I have to reread his fiction with a new eye. Nabokov's passionate life and work is an inspiration to the least of us.

15 people found this helpful

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janegrace

This purchase is a gift...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 19, 2014

Verified Purchase

...that has yet to be given. The book arrived in the condition expected which is "Good". It was received within three days which far exceeded the time frame. After perusing the contents I'm confident that the intended recipient, a Nabokov fan, will enjoy the addition to his library.

One person found this helpful

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thirdtwin

He Wrote More Than One Book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 13, 2016

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If you have his other work this will widen your scope and understanding of the man and his fiction.

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Jim

very useful book for me

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 22, 2013

Verified Purchase

I want to know how VN did his Lepidoptera research. This book and Kurt Johnson & Steve Coates's Nabokov's Blues help me substantially. The price is reasonable.

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javel saudades

Nabokov for appreciators!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 8, 2014

Marvelous!

"Nabokov's Butterflies"

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 14, 2010

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.

For over 500 book reviews and exclusive author interviews, go to [...]

8 people found this helpful

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Silvia

Nabokov como científico

Reviewed in Spain 🇪🇸 on August 20, 2017

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Un buen ensayo que combina la investigación en los diarios y documentos privados, con la opinión científica y algunas citas en las obras literarias.

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Nabokov's Butterflies: Unpublished and Uncollected Writings Hardcover – January 1, 2000

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Editorial Reviews

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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

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Vladimir Nabokov

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