oldslabsides wrote: 

Don't think of it so much as a part of Nabokov's body of literature, but as part of Nabokov's history, a glimpse into the psychology of his creative process.  Flawed but fascinating.

 winter wrote: 
Yup, yup! Same here!

 meower wrote: 

crickets/tumbleweeds

i guess it wasnt that funny.

 oldslabsides wrote: 

thread jack/bad joke.  Laura from General Hospital, from back in the day

 meower wrote: 

the original laura

 oldslabsides wrote: 
Maybe he had hopes of finishing it  before he died.

 laozilover wrote: 
Just guessing, but perhaps by the time he took the decision he was bed-ridden.  Not a good place to play with fire.

Okay,.... soooooooo... Why didn't he burn it his own self? EH?

 oldslabsides wrote: 
I'm torn on this one.

On the one hand, Nabokov was a genius. I suspect even his B material blows most authors out of the water. It would be a shame to lose it.

On the other hand, I've written my share (some would say more) of crap that I wouldn't want to see published. I'm no Nabokov, but I'd still like to think that the stuff I'm embarrassed by won't wind up haunting my ghost. 

 oldslabsides wrote: 
Neither, I think. I'm glad he finally made the decision. The genius of Nabokov should be shared, even in a weakened and incomplete state. The Original of Laura is no masterpiece and will probably end up as a literary curiosity but will surely be valuable to Nabokov scholars and aficionados. With Dmitri now 75, I'm glad he waited no longer to release Laura. Reading Nabokov is to revel in the splendor of the English language.

 oldslabsides wrote: 
Somewhere in between, of course, but I say good for him.  Kafka wanted his work burned (almost all of what we're familiar with); thank the literary gods that his friends refused.  Literature lore abounds with similar examples.  I heard something on NPR to the effect that the family agonized over this decision for some time, but I think they did the right thing. 

Is Nabokov's son a saint or a sinner for doing this?

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