The Original of Laura: Dying Is Fun - Hardcover

Nabokov, Vladimir Vladimirovich

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0307271897 ISBN 13: 9780307271891

Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc, 2009

Synopsis

A landmark publication of the literary master's unfinished final work is a fragmented draft as hand-written on 138 index cards, originally slated for destruction, that have been released by his son, in a volume that features removable facsimile reproductions.

About this title

Review:

In these pages readers will find bright flashes of Nabokovian wordplay and surreal, Magritte-like descriptions." "The New York Times"
""
"Tantalizing, fascinating. . . . A generous gift to readers. . . . Filled with sly wit and memorable images." "The Christian Science Monitor
"
"A beautifully printed objet d'art in its own right, the book of previously unpublished writings offers a thrilling insight into the great writer's creative process, 28 years after his death." "The Kansas City Star
"
"A unique chance to see the master out of control. . . . It's like seeing an unfinished Michelangelo sculpture--one of those rough, half-formed giants straining to step out of its marble block. It's even more powerful, to a different part of the brain, than the polish of a David or a Lolita." "New York" magazine
"This is no ordinary manuscript. . . . "The Original of Laura" is an astonishingly accurate representation of a genius' shards. But, my God, what shards these are. What devotee of Nabokov, much less mere reader, could possibly regret Dmitri Nabokov's decision to give us this gift? . . . What we have is a novelistic genius's fever dream one of the great literary talents of his century aswirl with ideas and last thoughts." "The Buffalo News
"
"Nabokov's last metafictive parable. . . . One of the most interesting short stories Nabokov never wrote." "San Francisco Chronicle
"
"Bits and pieces of Laura will beckon and beguile Nabokov fans, who will find many of the author s perennial themes and obsessions percolating through the story of Philip. . . . In these pages readers will find bright flashes of Nabokovian wordplay and surreal, Magritte-like descriptions." "The New York Times
"
Undeniably handsome. . . . Nabokov s ornate vocabulary is predictably fun, especially when applied to body parts. "The Guardian" (London)
The more I reread it, the more I discover and admire. . . . His style may be most extraordinary not so much as prose but as story. . . . For centuries, I predict, scholars of narrative will focus on the opening chapter of The Original of Laura as proof of the new finds to be made in fiction in characterization, setting, action, speech, narration. Brian Boyd, "The Globe and Mail" (Toronto)"

"In these pages readers will find bright flashes of Nabokovian wordplay and surreal, Magritte-like descriptions." --The New York Times

"Tantalizing, fascinating. . . . A generous gift to readers. . . . Filled with sly wit and memorable images." --The Christian Science Monitor

"A beautifully printed objet d'art in its own right, the book of previously unpublished writings offers a thrilling insight into the great writer's creative process, 28 years after his death." --The Kansas City Star

"A unique chance to see the master out of control. . . . It's like seeing an unfinished Michelangelo sculpture--one of those rough, half-formed giants straining to step out of its marble block. It's even more powerful, to a different part of the brain, than the polish of a David or a Lolita." --New York magazine
"This is no ordinary manuscript. . . . The Original of Laura is an astonishingly accurate representation of a genius' shards. But, my God, what shards these are. What devotee of Nabokov, much less mere reader, could possibly regret Dmitri Nabokov's decision to give us this gift? . . . What we have is a novelistic genius's fever dream--one of the great literary talents of his century aswirl with ideas and last thoughts." --The Buffalo News

"Nabokov's last metafictive parable. . . . One of the most interesting short stories Nabokov never wrote." --San Francisco Chronicle

"Bits and pieces of Laura will beckon and beguile Nabokov fans, who will find many of the author's perennial themes and obsessions percolating through the story of Philip. . . . In these pages readers will find bright flashes of Nabokovian wordplay and surreal, Magritte-like descriptions." --The New York Times

"Undeniably handsome. . . . Nabokov's ornate vocabulary is predictably fun, especially when applied to body parts." --The Guardian (London)
"The more I reread it, the more I discover and admire. . . . His style may be most extraordinary not so much as prose but as story. . . . For centuries, I predict, scholars of narrative will focus on the opening chapter of The Original of Laura as proof of the new finds to be made in fiction--in characterization, setting, action, speech, narration." -Brian Boyd, The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

About the Author:

Vladimir Nabokov was born in 1899, in St. Petersburg, Russia. His acclaimed works of fiction includeLolita, Pnin, and Pale Fire, among others. He died in Montreux, Switzerland, in 1977.

About this edition

• Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0307271897
• ISBN 13: 9780307271891
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 278