Pale Fire (1962)
Vladimir Nabokov
This book opens with the epigraph:
"This reminds me of the ludicrous account he gave Mr. Langton, of the despicable state of a young gentleman of good family. 'sir, when I heard of him last, he was running about town shooting cats.' And then in a sort of kindly reverie, he bethought himself of his own favorite cat, and said, 'But Hodge shan't be shot: no, no, Hodge shall not be shot.
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