Apparently Vladimir Nabokov wanted the index cards containing his unfinished last novel, ‘The Original Of Laura’ burned, but Nabokov’s literary executor, his son Dmitri, now says that his dad has given him the go-ahead to publish from beyond the grave. Well, sort of.
Here’s what Nabokov told Der Spiegel, via the Times, about what motivated his decision to go against his father’s wish that the book be destroyed: “I’m a loyal son and thought long and seriously about it. Then my father appeared before me and said with an ironic grin: ‘You’re stuck in a right old mess. Just go ahead and publish.'”
By the time Nabokov spoke to Vanity Fair, though, the apparition had become more of a vague, new-agey sounding “presence.” “I feel that now, if he were to be speaking to me from this world or some other world, he would smile wryly, and say ‘Look, I see what kind of mess you are in. Why don’t you just go ahead and publish it? Have fun. Make some money if you want. And don’t worry about it.’ I felt that his presence was somewhere there, sustaining and supporting my decision.” Dad’s a friendly ghost, it seems.