In Pale Fire Nabokov offers a cornucopia of deceptive pleasures: 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 and one-upmanship, and political intrigue.
Read More
In Pale Fire Nabokov offers a cornucopia of deceptive pleasures: 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 and one-upmanship, and political intrigue.
Read Less
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good in very good dust jacket. First edition, second printing. Jacket is unclipped, with wear to edges, now in mylar. Pages and jacket mildly age toned. Text unmarked. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. Audience: General/trade.
The narrator of this novel is one screwed up guy. The character who is narrating this novel purports to be annotating and commenting on a lengthy poem by a dear friend and neighbour. Instead, the narrator has hijacked the poem for his own purposes. The reader has to decide if the narrator is aware and is intentionally subverting the other man's work, or is he so deluded that he actually believes in the hilarious and revealing nonsense he goes on and on about.
This is a very funny book and there is no doubt that the humour is intentional. It is also brilliant.
