Nabokov's Blues: The Scientific Odyssey of a Literary Genius

by Steven L. Coates and Kurt Johnson

Book Overview

During the 1940s Vladimir Nabokov was an acknowldged experts in Blues, a diverse group of Latin American butterflies. This book, which is part biography, explores the worldwide crisis in biodiversity... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0071373306
• ISBN13: 9780071373302
• Release Date: March 2001
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
• Length: 396 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Wonderful Little Book

I picked up the paperback of this book because I'd heard about it when it was in hardback. For anyone who is fascinated by science, literature, history, sociology and much more, they will find the blend of story, information and insight in this book satisfying and enlightening. Its never gets dull because you're reading about a historical literary figure, and his biography, tons of information about science and exploration, the scientists who completed the formative work Nabokov began at Harvard before becoming famous after Lolita, and how this all fits together in todays biodiversity crisis and squabbles over whether Nabokov was really a bona fide scientist or just an boyish aficionado. I felt I had learned a great deal from this book but also enjoyed it. It is a great blend of historical fact, new stories, and insight the into world's environmental dilemmas. I also had no idea of the complex ways in which Nabokov interwove butterflies and their images and symbols into his novels.

A very interesting and entertaining book!

This book is a fun read for anyone with an interest in the personal histories that shape authors, in biology and/or in the environment and ecology. It provides great insight into the scientific passion that moved one of the more interesting figures in literature, and nicely weaves the tale of Nabokov's first passion, lepidoptery, providing many interesting biographical details (including his wonderful sense of humor!), and the modern day story of the scientists who continued his work and discovered that his scientific legacy was truly as important and inventive as his literature. It discusses the science in a way that is interesting and easily understood by the non-scientist, but does not diminish the nature of the scientific information conveyed. In addition, it shows how the science impacted the literature. How interesting that a butterfly-gathering trip would provide the backdrop for Lolita! I found this book to be very interesting, informative and entertaining, and I highly recommend it.

In Pursuit

Nabokov's Blues by Kurt Johnson and Stephen Coates is a testament to the dogged pursuit of their art by basic scientists such as Drs. Vladimir Nabokov and Kurt Johnson who continue their efforts with minimal funding and little glamour, and the roles played by happenstance and eccentricity in substantial discoveries. The adventure stories spun by Stephen Jay Gould in Wonderful Life and Jonathan Weiner in The Beak of the Finch in high profile, well-financed disciplines, and by Mark Jaffe in And No Birds Sing and now by Johnson and Coates in Nabokov's Blues in lesser known arenas, demonstrate how events and personalities conspire. Johnson and Coates capture this process and invite the reader into this adventure as the scientists and their colleagues pursue the magic of butterflies. Nabokov's Blues is an engaging retelling of the exciting set of adventures, in the field and in museums, begun by one of the great storytellers of the 20th Century, Vladimir Nabokov. With the disclaimer of a member of a class described by the reviewer as "eccentrics and polymaths" who played a minor role in Kurt Johnson's great adventure, I cannot disagree more strongly with Richard Conniff's assertion in his February 20,2000 review in The New York Times Book Review that "the authors fail to capture the full wonder and oddity of the enterprise." This is exactly what the authors accomplish.

Enjoyed This Book Immensely

I received this book over the holidays and have enjoyed it immensely. The authors tell a smartly fashioned story about Vladimir Nabokov's scientific work, blending this poorly known aspect of his life with an equally enlightening treatment of his general biography and the place that his love of Lepidoptera came to take in his fiction. Readers who enjoy a good story, new and fascinating information, and walking across a number of "fields' simultaneously, will especially enjoy this book. The narrative is a easy to read and comprehend; the authors have gone to lengths to give examples and explanations which allow the reader to get into the scientific depth and importance of Nabokov's work, but without ever losing track of the ongoing story and the light-heartedness of good humor and plucky insights. There is a good share of humor, wit and irony to move the reader along.

A Fascinating New Account

What is intriguing about this book is that it has taken an entire volume of previously untapped material-- Nabokov's scientific work and the stories of and from the scientists who have studied and completed Nabokov's pioneering work in science and woven an entirely new story about a personage who might have been considered previously well-known. Who would have known this story was around? It reminds of Sobel's Galileo's Daughter which also uses the same tack-- takes the correspondence with his daughter, previously untapped, and weaves a whole new story about Galileo! The authors of Nabokov's Blues have extra luck in that, since they are demonstrating for the first time Nabokov's acumen in two very different fields, science and literature, they can take the opportunity to interweave these two worlds, which they do in a fascinating and intriguing way. What is so compelling about this book is that its story has just not been told before. Just when you thought you knew something about Nabokov, here comes his science! and, with gusto. A great book.