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An Interesting Solution...
Nabokov's son could make a copy of the manuscript and publicly burn it, allow the world to believe that it has been torched and is no longer. But take the original manuscript and secretly lock it away in a safe deposit box where it can be stored for a couple generations. Then, when the son's grandchildren have reached a certain age, allow them ...
Posted to The Spectator by pixiequix on February 4, 2008
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
burn it
It must be destroyed. The author specifically stated that it should be destroyed. If he deliberately would not have released it as it is, his wishes should be fulfilled. It might be different if he had not made mention of the manuscript at all, but alas he did. Too bad for us.
Posted to The Spectator by aradileepan 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
Re: Please don't
I love VN. I love his words, I love his ideas. Although I never met him, I trust him. How can we value all that he has given us, and then disregard his final wish for this manuscript? This strikes me as highbrow paparazzi-ism. I fully believe that this manuscript should be destroyed, if for no other reason than that VN thought it should. Maybe ...
Posted to The Spectator by mizkc on January 17, 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
Re: Nabokov last work
Nabokov I am sure was not ever close to having been in a drunken state when he penned his any of his great work!
Posted to The Spectator by CaneMan on January 16, 2008