Vladimir Nabokov's book of memoirs, Other Shores (1954), has an unusual structure and purpose: reconstructing the distant past from the early years of the 20th century to May 1940, he tries to discover in it the development and repetition of secret themes in an apparent fate. Even the most tragic years of Russian and European history, witnessed by Nabokov, cannot prevent such a development and repetition. Despite time and space, the author of "The Gift" and "Lolita" strives with unprecedented skill and perseverance to return to his happy childhood on the estate — if not in the flesh, then his own "doppelganger in an American coat with vicuna fur."