The Original of Laura, Vladimir Nabokov's last work, is fragmentary in places but uses unprecedented turns of thought and language, his son Dmitri tells swissinfo.ch.The Russian literary giant was working on his final novel in Montreux, Switzerland, at the time of his death in 1977. Next month the book will be published, despite the fact that Nabokov never wanted it to see the light of day.
The author of the scandalous Lolita told his heirs to destroy the manuscript of his unfinished 18th novel, originally titled Dying is Fun, which was written on 138 index cards.
But after 30 years and much agonizing, Dmitri announced in April 2008 that he would publish the novel, which remained locked away in a Swiss bank vault.
He said his father had described Laura as one of his most important books and would not have wanted it "to burn like a latter-day Jeanne d'Arc".
Over the years the fate of the novel has been much debated by Nabokov readers and academics. Several tantalising short excerpts have been made public.
Playboy Magazine has acquired the rights to print a 5,000-word excerpt from the novel, which will appear in their December issue. The novel will be published worldwide for the first time on November 17.
Read the interview HERE
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