Pale Fire
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- Create Date：2022-08-26 09:56:51
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Vladimir Nabokov
- ISBN：0141185260
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Summary
The American poet John Shade is dead。 His last poem， 'Pale Fire'， is put into a book， together with a preface， a lengthy commentary and notes by Shade's editor， Charles Kinbote。 Known on campus as the 'Great Beaver'， Kinbote is haughty， inquisitive， intolerant， but is he also mad， bad - and even dangerous？ As his wildly eccentric annotations slide into the personal and the fantastical， Kinbote reveals perhaps more than he should be。
Nabokov's darkly witty， richly inventive masterpiece is a suspenseful whodunit， a story of one-upmanship and dubious penmanship， and a glorious literary conundrum。
Part of a major new series of the works of Vladimir Nabokov， author of Lolita and Pale Fire， in Penguin Classics。
Nabokov's darkly witty， richly inventive masterpiece is a suspenseful whodunit， a story of one-upmanship and dubious penmanship， and a glorious literary conundrum。
Part of a major new series of the works of Vladimir Nabokov， author of Lolita and Pale Fire， in Penguin Classics。
Reviews
Hanka Kirbiová
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（⊙。⊙（☉_☉）⊙。⊙）
v
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I was the shadow of the waxwing slain！who did it like nabokov！！！ structurally ingenious， a borgesian escher puzzle and a thriller meticulously hammered into one， impossible that he pulls it all off and yet he undeniably does。 most exciting， to me， is the thematic continuation between lolita and pale fire， only instead of an unreliable （to say the least！） egotist preying on vulnerability and youth， we have a narrator who wants to consume talent。 kinbote can write hundreds of pages of footnotes， b I was the shadow of the waxwing slain！who did it like nabokov！！！ structurally ingenious， a borgesian escher puzzle and a thriller meticulously hammered into one， impossible that he pulls it all off and yet he undeniably does。 most exciting， to me， is the thematic continuation between lolita and pale fire， only instead of an unreliable （to say the least！） egotist preying on vulnerability and youth， we have a narrator who wants to consume talent。 kinbote can write hundreds of pages of footnotes， but he cannot write poetry。 （though we note that， commentary/consumption complete， he elevates himself from "commentator， editor" to "writer" in the index; probably not even his last sly boast。） and despite said hundred pages of effort， he cannot make the poem say what it will not。 shade's narrative resists， remains perhaps more modest but certainly intact。 it's a delicious enlivening of what humbert humbert raises in the final paragraphs of lolita: a struggle for immortality via art， played out in near-real time as one is encouraged to flip back and forth between the pages。 if we may be certain about one thing regarding charles kinbote: he is a fantastic leech。 （also "hurricane lolita"？ nabokov！ nabokov！！！） 。。。more
Kate
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I was afraid to read Pale Fire for a long time， on the grounds that if I didn't like it I would have to entirely reconstruct my own notion of myself。 Relieved to report that I loved it， obviously。 I was afraid to read Pale Fire for a long time， on the grounds that if I didn't like it I would have to entirely reconstruct my own notion of myself。 Relieved to report that I loved it， obviously。 。。。more
Jim LeBlanc
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I think Lolita is often seen as Nabokov's opus。 But， to me， Pale Fire takes the cake。 An epic poem， within a novel， with end notes that open up a completely different element to the story。 He really has a way of nailing down that pretentious 50s/60s era docent as well。Its another one of those books that can be difficult to get through but is ultimately worth it at the end。To Shade！ To Zembla！ I think Lolita is often seen as Nabokov's opus。 But， to me， Pale Fire takes the cake。 An epic poem， within a novel， with end notes that open up a completely different element to the story。 He really has a way of nailing down that pretentious 50s/60s era docent as well。Its another one of those books that can be difficult to get through but is ultimately worth it at the end。To Shade！ To Zembla！ 。。。more
Io Perl-Strahan
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my friend kate and i both accidentally read this book， separately from one another， cuz we misremembered a quote being attributed to it -- turns out the quote was from speak， memory。 i liked this one more than she did
Sacha
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'Our close friendship was on that higher， exclusively intellectual level where one can rest from emotional troubles， not share them。 My admiration for him was for me a sort of alpine cure。 I experienced a grand sense of wonder whenever I looked at him， especially in the presence of other people， inferior people。 This wonder was enhanced by my awareness of their not feeling what I felt， of their not seeing what I saw （。。。）。' p。 22'Yet if prior to life we hadBeen able to imagine life， what mad，Imp 'Our close friendship was on that higher， exclusively intellectual level where one can rest from emotional troubles， not share them。 My admiration for him was for me a sort of alpine cure。 I experienced a grand sense of wonder whenever I looked at him， especially in the presence of other people， inferior people。 This wonder was enhanced by my awareness of their not feeling what I felt， of their not seeing what I saw （。。。）。' p。 22'Yet if prior to life we hadBeen able to imagine life， what mad，Impossible， unutterably weird，Wonderful nonsense it might have appeared！' p。 34'How not to panic when you're made a ghost:Sidle and slide， choose a smooth surd， and coast，Meet solid bodies and glissade right through，Or let a person circulate through you。' p。 45'An old intriguer who by dint of fawning on various Extremist officials had obtained the post of Scenic Director， suddenly pointed a vibrating finger at the King， but being afflicted with a bad stammer could not utter the words of indignant recognition which were making his dentures clack。' p。 111'Life is hopeless， afterlife heartless。' p。 153'Let me close this important note with a rather anti-Darwinisian aphorism: The one who kills is always his victim's inferior。' p。 185'Good old Sylvia！ She had in common with Fleur de Fyler a vagueness of manner， a languor of demeanor which was partly natural and partly cultivated as a convenient alibi for when she was drunk （。。。）' p。 195'Modern taxi-men are as talkative as were the barbers of old （。。。）' p。 299'All artists have been born in what they callA sorry age: mine is worst of all' p。 212 。。。more
THEA
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I loved it， partially because my used copy had annotations like: "Are all of these characters gay？ （homosexual）/"。 Where John Shade says "。。。there are certain trifles I do not forgive。 Not having to read the required book。 Having read it like an idiot。 Looking in it for symbols; example: 'The author usesthe striking image green leaves because green is the symbol of happiness and frustration。'"， my annotator wrote "Is he mocking what I am doing right know。 [sic。]"。Also， the phrase "Es ist die mut I loved it， partially because my used copy had annotations like: "Are all of these characters gay？ （homosexual）/"。 Where John Shade says "。。。there are certain trifles I do not forgive。 Not having to read the required book。 Having read it like an idiot。 Looking in it for symbols; example: 'The author usesthe striking image green leaves because green is the symbol of happiness and frustration。'"， my annotator wrote "Is he mocking what I am doing right know。 [sic。]"。Also， the phrase "Es ist die mutter mit ihrem Kind" was underlined with the comment "French？"。 。。。more
jas
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finishing this was mostly complaining about what hard work it was before realising i was already thinking about reading it again。 like everything nabokov， utterly worth the effort。 sometimes exceptionally gripping and sometimes boring to the point of tears， but somehow in a fun way？ will spend next 3 hours reading theories on weird 90s literary forums
Sisyphus69
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ITS SO SLOW AND BORING AT THE START BUT YES ITS GENIUS AND EVENTUALLY THRILLING
R。G。 Ziemer
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Hard to describe this book， although many of the reviewers below have done it justice。 ANd some of the parodies are amazing！ （Some people just have too much time on their hands-- but I appreciated what they did。）Pale Fire must be a unique piece of writing。 Is it a novel？ It defies most of our conventional expectations by seeming to be a work of 999 lines by the American poet John Shade， expanded by a lengthy collection of notes and commentary by Shade's self-appointed editor Kinbote。 The reader Hard to describe this book， although many of the reviewers below have done it justice。 ANd some of the parodies are amazing！ （Some people just have too much time on their hands-- but I appreciated what they did。）Pale Fire must be a unique piece of writing。 Is it a novel？ It defies most of our conventional expectations by seeming to be a work of 999 lines by the American poet John Shade， expanded by a lengthy collection of notes and commentary by Shade's self-appointed editor Kinbote。 The reader quickly apprehends that Pale Fire is really about Kinbote: Shade's colleague at the New England University， his intrusive neighbor and sometime stalker。 The more of Kinbote's ramblings we read， the more is revealed about his motives， manias， and true identity。 A political exile from some Northern European nation， Kinbote's social awareness is as undeveloped as his understanding of the American English idiom。 Much wit and humor ensues， as this unreliable narrator exposes himself （ahem） as an egoistic and dangerous force。I've had this 1962-edition paperback on my shelf for over 50 years， and finally got around to reading it。 I'm glad I waited。 I wasn't smart or mature enough to really appreciate it until now。 。。。more
Vivian Xu
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Candida is a beautiful name for a baby girl
Wendela Rang
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I mean its brilliant
Dušan Stevanović
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dear john， i wrote you but you still aint calling
Walter Schutjens
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I will not rate a book whose very object is a sustained attack on literary criticism and whose writer eats prose for dinner with the gods。（read the poem read the poem read the poem - then sacrifice its beauty by finishing the rest of the book， but savor the poem savor it savor the poem！）
Chris Duray
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Honestly some works just take your breath away for their audacity。 It's a novel form for a book， and staggeringly complex when you consider the conversation between the subtext of the poem and the subtext of the annotations。I should say， I'm a sucker for a crazy narrator！ This one is bonkers！ Honestly some works just take your breath away for their audacity。 It's a novel form for a book， and staggeringly complex when you consider the conversation between the subtext of the poem and the subtext of the annotations。I should say， I'm a sucker for a crazy narrator！ This one is bonkers！ 。。。more
George
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A book unlike any other。 I really liked the poem， and most of the commentary。Really cool concept， but I do think sometimes it’s gets a bit too much。
Tripp
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Nabokov's book， Pale Fire， is composed of Charles Kinbote's book， Pale Fire， itself comprising Kinbote's foreword and commentary on the poet， John Shade's， poem， Pale Fire， also included， in what amounts to an intricately metafictive nesting doll of a novel。 Kinbote rapidly reveals himself to be not only a most unreliable narrator but also most probably insane。 And Nabokov's prose， as usual， is sharply beautiful， the kind that fully earns the term， "lapidary。" Nabokov's book， Pale Fire， is composed of Charles Kinbote's book， Pale Fire， itself comprising Kinbote's foreword and commentary on the poet， John Shade's， poem， Pale Fire， also included， in what amounts to an intricately metafictive nesting doll of a novel。 Kinbote rapidly reveals himself to be not only a most unreliable narrator but also most probably insane。 And Nabokov's prose， as usual， is sharply beautiful， the kind that fully earns the term， "lapidary。" 。。。more
Akvile
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Puiki， bet gana sudėtinga knyga， su daugybe nuorodų， persipynusių naratyvų， sudėtingumu priminė „Ulisą“。
Ryan
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in another life （dnf）
Doseisan
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Easily the most fun book I've ever read。Easily the funniest book。 I've ever read。Easily the most inventive book I've ever read。Easily the biggest train wreck of a book I've ever read。Easily one of the best books I've ever read。**Note for anyone who wants to read this:**Do not read any summary or details about the plot of the book （any knowledge of just about anything is a spoiler）。 If you do want a summary that doesn't reveal anything， here it is:This book includes:1: A foreward from Kinbote， a Easily the most fun book I've ever read。Easily the funniest book。 I've ever read。Easily the most inventive book I've ever read。Easily the biggest train wreck of a book I've ever read。Easily one of the best books I've ever read。**Note for anyone who wants to read this:**Do not read any summary or details about the plot of the book （any knowledge of just about anything is a spoiler）。 If you do want a summary that doesn't reveal anything， here it is:This book includes:1: A foreward from Kinbote， a late friend of poet John Shade。2: John Shade's famous poem in four Cantos - "Pale Fire"。3: Kinbote's line-by-line footnotes for the poem， which start out normal（-ish）， but soon stray further and further away from academic citation as we are plunged into the depths of。。。 4: An index which should really only be referenced after reading the commentary because it contains spoilers。Also， please read the book sequentially and don't skip ahead to a referenced note until a second reading。 。。。more
Brian
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Skipped through this， didn’t hold my interest。 Poem more interesting than the commentary。
heenie
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i had to laugh the delusion that exuded this man was so funny to me the poem was also shitty
Ephrem Arcement
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There is no denying Nabokov’s brilliance， but this book ， for me， is more to be admired than enjoyed。
Abhishek Anbazhagan
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I started Pale Fire once before， on my kindle。 I read the entire poem and realized that I’d have to refer back to the poem even though the author wrote his commentary in-line。 So I stopped until I got a copy of the real book。That chance came around on a Sat afternoon when we wandered into the Russian Hill Bookstore。 I didn't plan on buying anything but when I saw The American Library version of Lolita， Pnin， and Pale Fire rolled into a neatly bound deep emerald-color cover book， I had to have it I started Pale Fire once before， on my kindle。 I read the entire poem and realized that I’d have to refer back to the poem even though the author wrote his commentary in-line。 So I stopped until I got a copy of the real book。That chance came around on a Sat afternoon when we wandered into the Russian Hill Bookstore。 I didn't plan on buying anything but when I saw The American Library version of Lolita， Pnin， and Pale Fire rolled into a neatly bound deep emerald-color cover book， I had to have it。 Partly because I think Lolita is a great work of fiction and I want to read Pale Fire。 Two books for the price of one。 Three， if you are paying any attention。So I started reading it over coffee as the afternoon spilled into evening。 Pale Fire is an interesting book。 It is not the easiest of the Nabokov book to read but having read a couple of books by Nabokov before， I trammeled through knowing that a piece of performance art was unfurling as I read the book。 You see Nabokov doesnt just have the power to seduce with prose which is notably lacking in this book but he also， how do I say this politely， fucks around with the reader without you realizing it。 An unreliable narrator and a gullible reader are his favorite instruments。So， without knowing I read this book along。 Looking at it while being looked at。 Pale Fire is a simple book， there are mostly three key characters - Poet， Critic， and Assasin。 The first part of the book is a 999-line poem that is classic Nabokov and the second half of the book is the critical commentary on the poem by the Critic with a parallel narrative of an Assasin after his mark。 More than the story， what this book is， in my opinion， is a parody of a critic/reviewer and therein letting the reader question who are they influenced by in their real life。 The other book that was as subversive in making me question my influences almost as a philosophical exercise was The Fountainhead， particularly the Ellsworth Toohey portions and the climatic discussions between him and Howard Roark。 This is a novel for those who love pretense and boy do I love pretense。 It is the most technically inventive novel I have read。 I would put it in the league of Sudden Death by Alvaro Enrique or Italo Calavino’s if a winter’s night in the scope of its ambition。 Nabkov takes the traditional format of a novel and breaks it and he does it while flamboyantly showing off the range of his intellect。 For in the sections where the Critic comments， we see the expanse of Nabov’s inventivenesss and knowledge as it relates to the world。 Dave Chapelle said - Comedy is the only artform where you can use everything you know。 This is Nabokov’s attempt at showing Dave that you can do that in a novel as well。 I’d love to see Chuck Palahniuk attempt something in this vein。 It would be ludicrously delicious novel。If you are wondering if you should read this， I warn you， parts of this is a slog。 Whoever wrote that this is part “detective story” is wilfully misleading you， this is not a page-turner but once you finish you can go into the process of “What the fuck did I just read？” - Do I like it？ I kind of feel like I do but I also don't。 Wait！ It’s clever。”。 If you are sick of the three-act airport thriller or the woman in the train/plane/crane trope or just tropes， in general， want something to disrupt your patterns， then pick this up。 。。。more
Maria
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Lmao nabokov makes the best humoristic books
Ben
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The only perceptible flaw of this book is that I am considerably dumber than Vladimir Nabokov。
Рушания Валиева
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Within cells interlinked
Niccy
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Testimonies at the Nuremberg Trials were funnier than this。 Brilliant premise utterly botched by "intentionally" meandering， unrewarding digressions on the fictional land of Zembla。 Kinbote is irritating to the point of boredom。 L Nabokov。 Testimonies at the Nuremberg Trials were funnier than this。 Brilliant premise utterly botched by "intentionally" meandering， unrewarding digressions on the fictional land of Zembla。 Kinbote is irritating to the point of boredom。 L Nabokov。 。。。more
Lola
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Cartesian skepticism is so lame and Nabokov is so full of himself here
kol
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Love love love
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Pale Fire
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Pale Fire&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Pale Fire&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0