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The Daily Athenaeum
West Virginia University
http://www.thedaonline.com/a-e/nabokov-s-last-book-a-gift-1.1079697
The Daily Athenaeum > A&E
Nabokov’s last book a gift
By Nicole Yanovsky
Published: Thursday, January 21, 2010
Updated: Thursday, January 21, 2010
"The Original of Laura"
Every semester I come to the understanding that reading any non-syllabi sanctioned material will happen at a slow, almost non-existent pace.
That’s why, over break, I take the opportunity to cram in as much leisure reading as possible.
This past break was no exception, and there was one book in particular I had been anticipating: "The Original of Laura" by the late Vladimir Nabokov.
The book begins with an introduction by Nabokov’s son and only living heir, Dmitri Nabokov.
In the forward, Dmitri describes to readers the terribly difficult decision he faced when publishing this fragmented novel.
When Vladimir died in 1977 he left strict orders for his wife, Vera, to burn the index cards on which parts of "The Original of Laura" were written.
Unable to destroy them herself, Dmitri was left with them after his mother passed. He writes how he struggled with the idea of both publishing and not publishing his father’s last work of art.
The production of the book itself is intriguing for any reader.
On each page of the book one side has a photocopied picture of Vladimir’s handwritten index cards, and below each card is the typed text.
Though it’s nice to have Vladimir’s original script and notes on the text, the fact that the note cards are perforated might be a bit much. Readers might even see this as Dmitri handing over his father’s posthumous burden to readers.
There are only 138 index cards in the novel, and even though I wanted to savor each page, I finished the novel in about an hour.
Some readers might be disappointed after reading the cards. Not because of the quality, but merely because it is, as described, a novel in fragments.
Those familiar with Vladimir’s work will be able to detect recurring themes and character motifs in "The Original of Laura."
Readers are introduced to a woman, Flora, and Hubert H. Hubert who has molested a young girl.
Some of the cards are mere sentence fragments of ideas, leaving many questions and thoughts to be forever unanswered.
The publication of these note cards are, of course, beneficial and will be gratefully accepted by fans and scholars, but may leave new Nabokov readers in confusion, or more likely, yearning for more.
However, readers should be appreciative Dmitri gave them the tremendous gift of being able to see his father’s last work, as incomplete and brief as it may be.
Grade: A
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