It was much smaller than the spiral-bound book from his parents’ bedroom, and some of the pages weren’t even made of writing paper. Brown and thin and badly trimmed, they’d been salvaged from parcel wrapping or bags of greengrocers’ fruit. He tried not to bend the cardboard covers, for fear the whole thing might fall apart in his hands. The Life and Works of Abel Sebastien Korsakof, the book declared in a shaky, age-cramped hand. Abel Sebastien Korsakof, the subject and author of this work (who shall henceforth be referred to as ASK), was born in Poland, of parents who had fled Russia in the winter of 1917 (the year of revolution). His early childhood was a hard one, poor and frugal, the ordinary hardships of life exacerbated by the cruel and inclement weather prevalent in the area in which he grew up. Being the ninth child of parents who earned a pittance laboring on their impoverished farm, ASK learned early in his life of the devastating effects that shock weather events such as floods, freezes, and storms can have on the ability of a family to survive.
