description: In Pale Fire , Nabokov offers a cornucopia of deceptive a 999-line poem by the reclusive genius John Shade; an adoring foreword and commentary by Shade’s self-styled Boswell, Dr. Charles Kinbote; a darkly comic novel of suspense, literary idolatry, one-upmanship, and political intrigue. “This centaur work, half poem, half prose…is a creation of perfect beauty, symmetry, strangeness, originality and moral truth. Pretending to be a curio, it cannot disguise the fact that it is one of the great works of art of this century.” —Mary McCarthy
language: English
title: Pale Fire
titlecomplete: Pale Fire
characters: Botkin, Jack Grey, Charles Kinbote, Judge Goldsworth, John Shade, Sybil (Nabokov), Gradus
genres: Russia, Literature, Fiction, Russian Literature, Poetry, Literary Fiction, 20th Century, Novels, American, Classics
ratings_count: 49158
places: Zembla, Cedarn, Utana, New Wye, Appalachia
awards: awardedAt: -220896000000
name: National Book Award Finalist
category: Fiction
publisher: Berkley