Complete article at following URL:
http://www.powells.com/blog/?p=4329
Posted by Brockman, December 31st, 2008
The last day of 2008 seems like a good time for a year-end wrap-up, don't you think? Rather than regurgitate past events, I'll just revisit the more noteworthy stories that made this an alternately inspiring, infuriating, and sometimes baffling year.
[ ... ]
February 15: The Nabokov Controversy Begins
The Debate Heats Up: Should Dmitri Nabokov burn his father's unpublished manuscript, as Vladimir requested?
John Banville says no.
Tom Stoppard says yes.
[ ... ]
Also April 24: Laura Gets a Reprieve
The Salvation of Laura: Following much brouhaha in the press and elsewhere, Dmitri Nabokov has decided to reject his late father's wishes and publish Vladimir Nabokov's final novel.
Vladimir Nabokov's The Original of Laura will now not be thrown onto the flames, the 73-year-old has told Der Spiegel magazine, arguing that his father, the creator of Lolita and Pale Fire who died in 1977, would not want his son to suffer any more over his most tortuous dilemma.
However, Dmitri stated that he will adhere to at least one of his father's wishes by burning any and all negative reviews the book might generate.
[ ... ]
÷ ÷ ÷
Brockman is the head writer for the daily Book News posts on the Powells.com blog. In his free time he's hard at work on his fictional memoir, which changes titles daily.
The views and commentary posted by Brockman are entirely his own, and are not representative of the whole of Powell's Books, its employees, or any sane human being.
2008: The Year In Book News, Part 1