The Original of Laura

( 5 )
Marketplace (New and Used)
Hardcover
from
$4.96
$35.00 List Price (Save 86%)
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
All (20)  
Used (11)  
New (9)  
Close
Sort by
Page 1 of 2
Showing 1 – 10 of 20 (2 pages)
$4.96
(Save 86%)
AtlantaBookCompany
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(8067)

Condition:

New — never opened or used in original packaging.

Like New — packaging may have been opened. A "Like New" item is suitable to give as a gift.

Very Good — may have minor signs of wear on packaging but item works perfectly and has no damage.

Good — item is in good condition but packaging may have signs of shelf wear/aging or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Acceptable — item is in working order but may show signs of wear such as scratches or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Used — An item that has been opened and may show signs of wear. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Refurbished — A used item that has been renewed or updated and verified to be in proper working condition. Not necessarily completed by the original manufacturer.

Very Good
Light wear to edges and pages. Cover and spine show no easily noticeable damage. A tradition of southern quality and service. All books guaranteed at the Atlanta Book Company. ... Our mailers are 100% recyclable. Read more Show Less

Ships from: Atlanta, GA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$4.96
(Save 86%)
Bookmans AZ
Seller since 2007

Feedback rating:

(3679)

Condition: Good
2009 Hardcover Good Satisfaction 100% guaranteed.

Ships from: Tucson, AZ

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$7.54
(Save 78%)
New Chapter Recycling
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(3302)

Condition: Good

Ships from: Lakewood, WA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$10.00
(Save 71%)
Pomfret Street Books PA
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(199)

Condition: Very Good
2009 Hardcover Near Fine. No Jacket Binding Tight Pages Clean Light Edge Wear.

Ships from: Carlisle, PA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$15.30
(Save 56%)
Bookmach
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(7)

Condition: New
0307271897 Knopf; NY, 2009. Hardcover. Unknown edition. NEW and In-Stock, sealed in publishers shrink. We pack securely and ship daily w/delivery confirmation on every book. The ... picture on the listing page is of the actual book for sale. Additional Scan(s) are available for any item, please inquire. Read more Show Less

Ships from: North Scituate, RI

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$15.75
(Save 55%)
Sandman Book Company
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(87)

Condition: Good
0307271897 Used, in good condition. Book only. May have interior marginalia or previous owner's name.

Ships from: Punta Gorda, FL

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$19.37
(Save 45%)
Books Any
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(1921)

Condition: New
2009 Hard cover New. Sewn binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 278 p. Contains: Illustrations.

Ships from: Valley Stream, NY

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$19.51
(Save 44%)
PaperbackshopUS
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(4803)

Condition: New
Shipped from US in 4 to 14 business days. Established seller since 2000

Ships from: Aurora, IL

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$21.95
(Save 37%)
indoo
Seller since 2007

Feedback rating:

(21686)

Condition: New
BRAND NEW

Ships from: Avenel, NJ

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$23.95
(Save 32%)
savethetrees
Seller since 2012

Feedback rating:

(37)

Condition: Good

Ships from: Lookout Mountain, GA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
Page 1 of 2
Showing 1 – 10 of 20 (2 pages)
Close
Sort by

Overview

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 ...

See more details below
Sending request ...

More About This Book

Overview

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.

Editorial Reviews

Michiko Kakutani
In many respects, the release of a rudimentary version of [Nabokov's] last novel does a disservice to a writer who deeply cherished precision and was practiced in the art of revision…Yet, at the same time, these bits and pieces of Laura will beckon and beguile Nabokov fans, who will find many of the author's perennial themes and obsessions percolating through the story…bright flashes of Nabokovian wordplay…and surreal, Magritte-like descriptions…They will also find some small, walk-on parts that read like parodic self-portraits
—The New York Times
Publishers Weekly
Before Nabokov's death in 1977, he instructed his wife to burn the unfinished first draft—handwritten on 138 index cards—of what would be his final novel. She did not, and now Nabokov's son, Dmitri, is releasing them to the world, though after reading the book, readers will wonder if the Lolita author is laughing or turning over in his grave.
More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews
Library Journal
The son of a painter who's fled Moscow for New York marries a ballerina, and their daughter (well, it's probably his daughter), dreamy, conniving, and amoral, eventually has an unfortunate encounter with her widowed mother's protector, then free-floating sexual and literary experiences until graduating from college and marrying the enormously fat, enormously rich scholar Philip Wild, who indulges in experiments in auto-dissolution, a sort of self-willed dying of various body parts. That is the bare bones of a story contained in 138 note cards that Nabokov left at his death with instructions to burn. Of course, it's beside the point—we're reading this not for plot but for a glimpse into the mind of a great writer. As a bonus, we get the languid atmosphere, the honed language, and that Nabokovian sense that sex and death are linked as self-obsessions. VERDICT Son Dmitri pondered for decades before deciding to release these cards. Should he have done so? Probably, yes: it's astonishing to get this last bit of light from Nabokov. Pop readers titillated by mention of Lolita won't get it, but serious readers and scholars will definitely want to read and ponder. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 7/09; the book includes removable facsimiles of the cards, though the library edition has nonremovable cards.—Ed.]—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780307271891
  • Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
  • Publication date: 11/17/2009
  • Pages: 304
  • Product dimensions: 9.46 (w) x 6.60 (h) x 1.72 (d)

Meet the Author

Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov was born in 1899, in St. Petersburg, Russia. His acclaimed works of fiction include Lolita, Pnin, and Pale Fire, among others. He died in Montreux, Switzerland, in 1977.

Biography

Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was born on April 23, 1899, in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Nabokovs were known for their high culture and commitment to public service, and the elder Nabokov was an outspoken opponent of antisemitism and one of the leaders of the opposition party, the Kadets. In 1919, following the Bolshevik revolution, he took his family into exile. Four years later he was shot and killed at a political rally in Berlin while trying to shield the speaker from right-wing assassins.

The Nabokov household was trilingual, and as a child Nabokov was already reading Wells, Poe, Browning, Keats, Flaubert, Verlaine, Rimbaud, Tolstoy, and Chekhov, alongside the popular entertainments of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Jules Verne. As a young man, he studied Slavic and romance languages at Trinity College, Cambridge, taking his honors degree in 1922. For the next eighteen years he lived in Berlin and Paris, writing prolifically in Russian under the pseudonym Sirin and supporting himself through translations, lessons in English and tennis, and by composing the first crossword puzzles in Russian. In 1925 he married Vera Slonim, with whom he had one child, a son, Dmitri.

Having already fled Russia and Germany, Nabokov became a refugee once more in 1940, when he was forced to leave France for the United States. There he taught at Wellesley, Harvard, and Cornell. He also gave up writing in Russian and began composing fiction in English. In his afterword to Lolita he claimed: "My private tragedy, which cannot, and indeed should not, be anybody's concern, is that I had to abandon my natural idiom, my untrammeled, rich, and infinitely docile Russian tongue for a second-rate brand of English, devoid of any of those apparatuses -- the baffling mirror, the black velvet backdrop, the implied associations and traditions -- which the native illusionist, frac-tails flying, can magically use to transcend the heritage in his own way." [p. 317] Yet Nabokov's American period saw the creation of what are arguably his greatest works, Bend Sinister (1947), Lolita (1955), Pnin (1957), and Pale Fire (1962), as well as the translation of his earlier Russian novels into English. He also undertook English translations of works by Lermontov and Pushkin and wrote several books of criticism. Vladimir Nabokov died in Montreux, Switzerland, in 1977.

Author biography courtesy of Random House, Inc.

    1. Also Known As:
      Vladimir Sirin
    1. Date of Birth:
      April 23, 1899
    2. Place of Birth:
      St. Petersburg, Russia
    1. Date of Death:
      July 2, 1977
    2. Place of Death:
      Montreux, Switzerland

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 5 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(4)

4 Star

(1)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identiy on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

We're sorry, but penname is already taken.

Please select one of the following:
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

penname is available!

By visiting the BN.com website or marking a purchase on BN.com, a User is deemed to have accepted the Terms of Use.

Continue Anonymously

Welcome, penname

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

Sort by: Showing all of 5 Customer Reviews

  • Posted December 23, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    9780679723165

    Beautiful Book

    After reading several books by Mr. Nabokov, I was very excited to receive and read this book. As with his other novels, the wording and phrasing of the story is beautiful, though the content itself is extremely demented;
    The book never finishes, though within the pages that have been completed, we find two major characters- Flora Wild; a flirty, flighty young girl who only married her husband because of his large amounts of money and cheats on him almost constantly, and Phillip Wild: An awkward, grotesque and overweight old doctor who wants to be recognized by his fellow peers.
    There are two main conflicts; the first one is rather strange. Dr. Wild decides that he wants to kill himself, and does so through imagination; thus, he can reverse the effects whenever he wishes. He feels extreme ecstacy every time he destroys a part of himself, and is obviously an unfortunate masochist.
    The second conflict is a bit less disturbing; Dr. Wild agreed to marry Flora only because she reminded him of a past lover-thus, the two have nearly no feelings toward each other and their relationship is not at all satisfying. We find out that a book has been written by one of Flora`s admirers, which makes Dr. Wild very angry.
    However, we don`t ever get to see how their relationship is affected by this, or if Dr. Wild ever succeeds in killing himself, because the novel comes to an ubrupt halt, as it is not completed-I nearly cried when it ended. The bad part is that I`ll always yearn to know the ending, though there will never be one. Although, since it was at my own discretion that I started reading the novel, I can`t complain.

    The design of the book itself is stunning; I love how realistic the notecards look--you can even punch them out if you so desire! It`s very ingenious and I love it.

    This book deserves nothing less than five stars-it`s magnificent!

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted January 16, 2010

    must have book

    it is book with original design. High quality paper and cover. This is not usual book, it is something for home private collection. You will have great opportunity to see How one of the greatest writers of 20 century create last book in his life. recommend! sorry for my English=)

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 29, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 6, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 26, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 5 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)
500 character limit