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A review by libellum_aphrodite
The Original of Laura by Vladimir Nabokov
4.0
Nabokov generated the perfect balance of a coherent skeleton of a story and holes left for the imagination. While this accomplishment was probably accidental, given the writing was cut off by his death rather than conscious decision, it does not diminish the efficacy for the reader. It is fun to dream up missing events from the character's lives. Because my copy came from the library, I could not remove and rearrange the copies of Nabokov's notecards, which would heighten the reader's feeling of control over the story.
As Nabokov was at the end of his life when he wrote The Original of Laura, it is not surprising that the manuscript is very preoccupied with mortality and death. In the book, Philip, a man with means enough to live very comfortably, flirts with the boundaries of life and death via corporal surrender through hypnosis, rather than engaging with the living around him. Because the story is unfinished, it is left to the reader to determine if Nabokov ascribed to Philip's assertion that dying is fun, or if he condemned Philip's squandering of his limited time alive.
As Nabokov was at the end of his life when he wrote The Original of Laura, it is not surprising that the manuscript is very preoccupied with mortality and death. In the book, Philip, a man with means enough to live very comfortably, flirts with the boundaries of life and death via corporal surrender through hypnosis, rather than engaging with the living around him. Because the story is unfinished, it is left to the reader to determine if Nabokov ascribed to Philip's assertion that dying is fun, or if he condemned Philip's squandering of his limited time alive.