Dmitri Nabokov's most recent post makes an excellent point about the partial revelations from The Original of Laura over the years, and he has inspired a suggestion of my own (apologies if someone has already made it, as I'm joining this thread late): But since Laura is a little bit pregnant, so to speak, the issue can no longer be a simple binary of publication versus destruction, but simply one of how this partially known work will stand in VN's bibliography. I would suggest that the precedent of Lolita's U. S. publication serve as a model here: that is, the use of recognized literary authorities to guide Lolita's arrival into the public realm, assuring readers (and prosecutors) that it was a genuine work of art (of genius), and not pornography. By publishing Laura in a critical edition, with scholarly essays and apparatus, it would be clear that this is not to be considered among the finished work--how could it be?--but as a fascinating artifact that deepens our understanding of this great writer. Having said all that, the decision on this is DN's alone--or between him and the shade of his father. They'll find the right answer. The rest of us should all take a deep breath and calm down.

Cheers to all,
Patrick McGrath

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