I first heard about
this short story from my favourite living English writer. This was an article
about Nabokov following the damaging publication of The Original Of Laura. In this article the writer quite bluntly
stated that “Signs and Symbols” is the most perfect story ever written.
Nabokov liked to repeat
about how the effect of best fiction is not just intellectual. It’s physical.
Something rippling down your chest, spine, stomach. I felt the full extent of
this while reading the story on a balcony one summer afternoon. On closing the
book, I resolved not to read anything afterwards. For days, maybe weeks. Just
to reread those three pages.
And then, years later,
a mystical thing happened. I was watching an interview with my favourite living
Russian writer, and he was talking about Lolita.
Then at some point he mentioned a few of Nabokov’s lesser known works and stated
(again, rather bluntly) that you won’t find a literary piece … well, I knew
what he was going to say … more perfect than ... “Signs and Symbols”.
You'll know when you read it.
You'll know when you read it.
