Jose Manuel Prieto

Nocturnal Butterflies of the Russian Empire Jose Manuel Prieto

Publisher Marketing:"Nocturnal Butterflies of the Russian Empire" was acclaimed by "The Hartford Courant" as "a thrilling discovery a reversal of the letters [of] Saul Bellow's "Herzog" [with] a Nabokovian delight in words and texts." J. is a smuggler living in Russia, making his living fencing the flotsam of communism's collapse. In Istanbul he takes a commission to trap an endangered Russian butterfly and decides to use it as an opportunity to smuggle V., his Russian lover who has no papers, back into her homeland. In the port of Odessa, she disappears, and J. continues alone to a small village on the Black Sea. Letters from V. begin to arrive, and as J. hunts the butterfly, he seeks a way to lure V. back into his life. Equal parts bittersweet love story, international intrigue, and one man's quest to write the perfect love letter, "Nocturnal Butterflies of the Russian Empire," wrote "The Tennessean," is "an amazing jewel of a story that winks with wit [and] wears its astonishing craftsmanship lightly." "An aesthetically blissful reading experience. Nabokov's spirit, alive and kind, has touched [Prieto] with its butterfly wings." Aleksandar Hemon, "The Village Voice Literary Supplement" " "Nocturnal Butterflies" is an impressive performance by a writer whose gifts are clearly abundant." Richard Bernstein, "The New York Times" "A beautiful, lavish, seedy, poetic, and magical book. Pure pleasure for the literary mind." Chris Kridler, "The Baltimore Sun"" Contributor Bio:  Prieto, Jose Manuel Born in Havana in 1962, Jose Manuel Prieto is also the author of Nocturnal Butterflies of the Russian Empire. He lived in Russia for twelve years, has translated the works of Joseph Brodsky and Anna Akhmatova into Spanish, and has taught Russian history in Mexico City. Since moving to the United States, he has held teaching appointments at Seton Hall and Princeton universities. Contributor Bio:  Christensen, Carol Christiansen is a freelance writer. Contributor Bio:  Christensen, Thomas Thomas Christensen is Professor of Music and the Humanities at the University of Chicago. Contributor Bio:  Bowlby, Stephen STEPHEN BOWLBY earned his BA in Speech & Theater at Westminster College in Pennsylvania, a short trip from his native North Jersey. His career quickly moved from commercial radio into television and film production as a writer, editor, and director with voice work ever present. With more than 35 years experience he s expanded into audiobook performance, studying with such industry greats as Pat Fraley, Scott Brick, and Stefan Rudnicki.