Review Consensus:
Mainly descriptive reviews, concentrating on Nabokov's fascination with butterflies, with many reviewers foregoing criticism entirely. Many also express wary awe, daunted by the heft, detail, and terminology found in the book.
Note: Jay Parini writes in The Guardian: "All translations are, as usual, by Nabokov's son Dmitri, who has lavished time and unusual talent on his father's work over several decades." John Fowles also suggests that all the translations are by Dmitri Nabokov. However, in the introductory A Note on the Texts it clearly states that: "Translations are by Brian Boyd unless otherwise noted." (A number are noted as being by Nabokov fils, but certainly not all.)
From the Reviews:
Please note that these ratings solely represent the complete review's biased interpretation and subjective opinion of the actual reviews and do not claim to accurately reflect or represent the views of the reviewers. Similarly the illustrative quotes chosen here are merely those the complete review subjectively believes represent the tenor and judgment of the review as a whole. We acknowledge (and remind and warn you) that they may, in fact, be entirely unrepresentative of the actual reviews by any other measure.
The complete review's Review:
Nabokov's Butterflies is a remarkable book. Vladimir Nabokov was, famously, fascinated by butterflies and besides being one of the greatest writers of the 20th century he was also a lepidopterist of some note. His dabbling in the field certainly went far beyond an amateur's efforts, and he appears to have made some noteworthy contributions to the field. He certainly took butterflies seriously (in a scientific sense), and he also saw them as a bridge between the real (natural and scientific) world and the world of art. Not surprisingly, butterflies figure extensively in his writing - much as they did in his life.
This unusual volume collects what seems to be every scrap Nabokov wrote that has to do with butterflies. More, in fact, as some of the scraps are what others wrote - on his behalf (wife Véra's notes, for example) or to him, etc. In fact, putting aside the autobiographical piece from Conclusive Evidence/Speak Memory that introduces his writings, the book is framed by excerpts from a letter from his father, V. D., written in 1908 and reminiscences from his son, Dmitri, from 1977.
Brian Boyd - Nabokov biographer and commentator - and Robert Michael Pyle - writer and lepidopterist - edited this volume, and each provides an introduction to Nabokov's fascination with butterflies. Boyd connects it to the literary works, where butterflies flitter all about, and Pyle emphasizes Nabokov's scientific achievements. Both pieces are quite strong, and certainly are useful introductions to the book.
Nabokov's Butterflies then proceeds chronologically (save the first autobiographical excerpt) with "selected writings" by Nabokov, from the time of his youth to his dying days. The subtitle of the collection - Unpublished and Uncollected Writings - is a bit misleading: much that is included here was previously unpublished, and the rest has certainly never been collected in this manner. Nevertheless, much of the writing is familiar. There are excerpts from the novels - each butterfly-related scene (16 from Lolita, for example) --, excerpts from interviews, letters, and poems and book reviews that have been published, in other form, previously.
There is also a great deal of lepidopteral writing that most Nabokov-readers will be unfamiliar with, most notably quite extensive notes for a planned book, The Butterflies of Europe. There are also a few essentially technical papers, such as Some new or little known Neartic Neonympha (Lepidoptera: Satyridae). Most of these are dry reading (or perhaps simply unreadable) for the layman. Even the aforementioned piece, with tempting terms like "Neo-nympha" and "Satyr-idae" (and published in the promisingly named !) will hold the interest of only the die-hard Nabokov fan.
The book also includes an appendix on Butterflies and Moths named by and for Vladimir Nabokov and an extensive bibliography
Nabokov's Butterflies is a beautiful book, from the feel of the paper to the careful design. It is richly illustrated. Besides photographs of Nabokov there are also the master's drawings of butterflies, ranging from marginal doodles to carefully coloured drawings - a stunning collection even without the accompanying text.
The suspicion of course arises that this is all a bit much of a good but somewhat peculiar thing - butterfly overkill, as it were. Perhaps. In some senses the book is practically unreadable, scientific gobbledygook that is impenetrable to the layman. The book is difficult to read straight through. There is no narrative thread. Indeed the only thread - the butterflies - flutter everywhere. It is, however, a wonderful book to dip into, with discoveries to be made on almost every page.
Certainly one gets a feel throughout for Nabokov's love of the study of butterflies, and how he is torn between that and his art:
(A)lthough I am doing in this line something of far-reaching scientific importance I sometimes feel like a drunkard who in his moments of lucidity realizes that he is missing all sorts of wonderful opportunities.
Proceeding chronologically the book provides another gloss on Nabokov's life, and can be followed like a biography - granted an unusual and one-sided one. Biographical detail, butterfly-focussed, can be found throughout - such as his acknowledgement in a 1951 letter: "I have a footballer's legs but my breasts bounce when I run."
Other typical Nabokov-judgements also slip in, such as his always welcome opinion on translation. Though familiar from the Selected Letters the joy of the ever-optimistic Nabokov at reading "Singleton's splendid translation" of Dante always bears repeating:
It is, in fact, a surprising variety that is collected here. All butterflies, all the time - and yet Nabokov (and his editors) show how much can be made of that.
There are, however, also some entries that baffle, providing only the tiniest bit of biographical detail:
From Prague. In Russian. Unpublished.
I went to see Obenberger at the entomological museum again.
The piecemeal presentation of the book, particularly the novels that are ripped apart and of which only the few butterfly-shreds are offered, is occasionally problematic. The relentless fill and progression of such morsels can also overwhelm. Early on the charming short story The Aurelian is presented in full, and one misses a similarly soothing extended piece later in the collection.
return to. It is a book one can enjoy over extended periods of time, with new discoveries to be made each time one dives in, perhaps on occasion becoming more adventurous and making one's way through the more technical pieces, discovering there too small Nabokov gems.
Butterfly lovers should be thrilled with this book (though having no expertise in the area we don't know whether Nabokov's systematist approach doesn't bother some). Nabokov lovers should also be thrilled - although surprisingly much of the material will, in fact, be familiar. Others might be harder to convince of the worth of the book - but they are missing something (well, people who don't consider themselves Nabokov lovers are already missing a great deal).
A beautiful, fascinating, sometimes frustrating and daunting book. Recommended - though readers should be aware of what they are getting themselves into.