When Vladimir Nabokov died in 1977, he left instructions for his heirs to burn the 138 handwritten index cards that made up the rough draft of his final and unfinished novel, The Original of Laura. But Nabokov’s wife, Vera, could not bear to destroy her husband’s last work, and when she died, the fate of the manuscript fell to her son. Dmitri Nabokov, now seventy-fivethe Russian novelist’s only surviving heir, and translator of many of his bookshas wrestled for three decades with the decision of whether to honor his father’s wish or preserve for posterity the last piece of writing of one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. His decision finally to allow publication of the fragmented narrativedark yet playful, preoccupied with mortalityaffords us one last experience of Nabokov’s magnificent creativity, the quintessence of his unparalleled body of work.

Photos of the handwritten index cards accompany the text. They are perforated and can be removed and rearranged, as the author likely did when he was writing the novel.

From the Hardcover edition.

Book Description

When Vladimir Nabokov died in 1977, he left instructions for his heirs to burn the 138 handwritten index cards that made up the rough draft of his final and unfinished novel, The Original of Laura. But Nabokov’s wife, Vera, could not bear to destroy her husband’s last work, and when she died, the fate of the manuscript fell to her son. Dmitri Nabokov, now seventy-five--the Russian novelist’s only surviving heir, and translator of many of his books--has wrestled for three decades with the decision of whether to honor his father’s wish or preserve for posterity the last piece of writing of one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. His decision finally to allow publication of the fragmented narrative--dark yet playful, preoccupied with mortality--affords us one last experience of Nabokov’s magnificent creativity, the quintessence of his unparalleled body of work.

Photos of the handwritten index cards accompany the text. They are perforated and can be removed and rearranged, as the author likely did when he was writing the novel.

弗拉基米尔·纳博科夫（1899-1977），二十世纪最伟大的作家之一、翻译家、鳞翅类昆虫学家。他的作品包括用俄文创作的小说《防守》和《天赋》；用英文创作的小说《洛丽塔》、《普宁》、《微暗的火》、《阿达》；自传体小说《说吧，记忆》；译作包括《爱丽丝梦游仙境》（英译俄）、《尤金·奥涅金》（俄译英）；还有《文学讲稿》。

德米特里·纳博科夫（1934-），纳博科夫作品的主要译者，他共用四种语言译介过纳博科夫的作品。他是哈佛大学优等毕业生，后进入美国隆基音乐学院，曾在很多国家的歌剧院担任男低音领唱。