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  • Re: The dead do not matter. What do the living want?

    burned.... the dead do matter.... without his once dead mind alive, the manuscript would exist nowhere.... therefore, from his pen his words.... now he is dead... and his son (as his wife before his son) carry an obligation to fulfill instead of an unnecessary requisite to fulfill the ''whim'' of the living.... he wasn't in ''our'' family.... my ...
    Posted to The Spectator by M S V on January 28, 2008

  • To Burn or not to Burn

    My initial, albeit selfish, reaction is to advise not burning the notecards. VN was too important a literary figure to even consider denying the chance to read his last novel, in whatever stage in its production it was in. The, when I put myself in VN's shoes, I think of how upset I would be if my wishes were disregarded. My official stance is ...
    Posted to The Spectator by ccurtner on January 26, 2008

  • not dimitri's choice

    not anybody's choice but VN's. had he composed on a word processor, he probably would've just pressed DELETE. End of story (literally). also, though in general i find rosenbaum's theories interesting and stimulating, the idea that VN borrowed from the movie ''laura'' seems ludicrous (sorry). my god, what controversy will ensue when JDS bites ...
    Posted to The Spectator by steve newman on January 23, 2008

  • To Dmitri Vladimirovich, re Laura

    Sri Dmitri Vladimirovich, by all means, consign Laura to the funeral pyre, but not before transferring the text your father left on index cards to your own sacred database. Publish a generous, Lauric précis, fruit to baying wolves, on which world-wide competition for an operatic libretto may be based. Promise prize money to be split ...
    Posted to The Spectator by gudhavasati on January 21, 2008

  • A vote not to burn

    Here is my reasoning: Vladimir Nabokov left the index cards in trust of his son Dimitri's wisdom, had he not had faith in his son's ability to do justice to his father's words, his father would not have left them behind. The point of not publishing the manuscript ''as is'' in his father's name is clear and makes perfect sense; I would not want to ...
    Posted to The Spectator by ankels on January 18, 2008

  • Classic Tragedy, in the best sense

    DN is in a truly tragic position; he has to choose between two very appealing options. He can be the good son and carry out his father's wishes or be Prometheus and bring something necessary into the world. All of this contingent, of course, on him first deciding whether the manuscript as it is is complete (and good) enough to make sense beyond ...
    Posted to The Spectator by Didymus H. on January 17, 2008