Each day, when he awakes, young Vladimir can tell what kind of day it is by the character of the light that slips through the shutters. His main concern is whether or not he will be shouldering his butterfly net after breakfast and setting off into the greenery in search of rare lepidopterans. Young Vladimir is obsessed with the science and the thrill of the hunt. His tutors and governesses all know that the morning belongs to him.
Admitting that the joy of solitude is no smart part of this love, he tells of a close friend who had ridden many miles by bicycle to pay him a visit, and who Nabokov subsequently abandoned for the entire morning of the following day.
At the age of eight, he discovers a small treasure trove of scientific.....
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