The book world is buzzing with the news that Vladimir Nabokov's son is set to defy the wishes of his father by publishing his final, unfinished novel.

Before his death in 1977, the Lolita author called on his family to destroy the incomplete manuscript of his work in progress, a novel to be called The Original of Laura.

In an interview published by German magazine Der Spiegel last week, Dmitri Nabokov characterized himself as a loyal son who has long agonized over what to do with his father's final work. He said a vision helped him decide.

"My father appeared before me and said with an ironic grin: 'You're stuck in a right old mess. Just go ahead and publish,'" the younger Nabokov, who is his father's literary executor, told the magazine.

He also defended his decision in an interview with BBC Radio aired this weekend.

"I never could envision myself burning or shredding this marvellous work," he said.

Nabokov had scrawled his ideas for the novel on about 50 index cards, which his family has kept stored in a Swiss bank vault. His wife, Vera, who died in 1991, had also struggled with the author's wish to destroy the material, the younger Nabokov said.

"I think my mother, understandably, wanted to satisfy his wishes, but could not bring herself to do it. It's such a wonderful thing," he told the BBC.

Over the years, speculation about the unfinished work has popped up on occasion, especially as the younger Nabokov — who has produced English translations of his father's work — sometimes hinted at the quality of the handwritten fragments in interviews.

However, he has shot down the idea that he would complete his father's novel, saying he "doesn't have the right."

Born in St. Petersburg into a wealthy family, Nabokov fled his homeland during the Bolshevik Revolution. Though best known for Lolita, which he wrote while living in the U.S., his works also include the novels Pale Fire and Bend Sinister, as well as several short story collections and poetry. He spent his final years in Switzerland.