Playboy magazine is the first to publish excerpts from the last novel by Nabokov

Playboy magazine received the right to the first publication of a fragment from the unfinished novel of the Russian-American writer Vladimir Nabokov, The Original of Laura. Before his death, the author bequeathed to destroy the manuscripts of the work, but his son and only heir Dmitry Nabokov decided to publish a novel.

A passage of 5 thousand words will appear on the pages of the December number of Playboy, which will be released on November 10, 2009 - exactly a week before the book goes on sale in US stores, reports The New York Observer .

Recall that the drafts for 30 years were stored on 138 library cards in a bank safe in Switzerland, but the son could not "take on the role of a literary arsonist." Last spring, with the permission of the 73-year-old Dmitry, the literary agent Nabokov Andrew Wiley sold the rights to publish the novel by KNOPF.

Then the literary editor of Playboy Amy Grace Lide intervened in the process. “At first, he (Wiley) doubted that Playboy was a suitable place to publish a novel in the United States. But I was persistent, as usual, and I made every effort to remind people of our literary history,” Lode said.

Indeed, during the life of Nabokov, he was in some way connected with a provocative magazine. So, in 1964, after the release of Lolita, Playboy gave a detailed interview with the writer, and in 1969 he printed excerpts from his novel "Ada". In addition, the owner of the magazine Hugh Heffner is a longtime fan of Nabokov's work.

The transaction price between Playboy and representatives of the writer was not disclosed, however, the literary editor of the magazine admitted that the editors have never paid such a solid amount for a literary passage.

The plot of the novel

Although the content of Nabokov’s last work has still been kept in the strictest secret, Laura’s fragments were seen by the writer Brian Boyd, a biographer of writer. According to Boyd, "this is a masterpiece of technical skill, just like the late works of Shakespeare, where he very concentratedly expands the boundaries of his personal method."

The text of the manuscript was seen by other people, although they can be counted on the fingers. If you interview all those who have managed to at least touch the manuscript content, you can bring the storyline. The protagonist Philip Wilde, an extremely fat neurologist, is married to a slender and windy woman named Flora, who is insanely illegible in sexual intercourse. Wilde originally liked Flora only because she reminded him of another woman - Lee Aurora.

The book begins with the description of the party, then four more scenes follow, after which the novel breaks down into fragments. It is not known how many years Wildle, but his thoughts about death do not leave him, and he decides to destroy himself through meditation.