Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov (English) Paperback Book

Description: Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov The American poet John Shade is dead; murdered. His last poem, Pale Fire, is put into a book, together with a preface, a lengthy commentary and notes by Shades editor, Charles Kinbote. Known on campus as the Great Beaver, Kinbote is haughty, inquisitive, intolerant, but is he also mad, bad - and even dangerous? FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Nabokovs suspenseful whodunit and one of his most acclaimed worksThe American poet John Shade is dead; murdered. His last poem, Pale Fire, is put into a book, together with a preface, a lengthy commentary and notes by Shades 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.Nabokovs darkly witty, richly inventive masterwork is a suspenseful whodunit, a story of one-upmanship and dubious penmanship, and a glorious literary conundrum. Author Biography Vladimir Nabokov (Author)Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977), born in St Petersburg, exiled in Cambridge, Berlin, and Paris, became the greatest Russian writer of the first half of the twentieth century. Fleeing to the US with his family in 1940, he then became the greatest writer in English of the second half of the century, and even Gods own novelist (William Deresiewicz). He lived in Europe from 1959 onwards, and died in Montreux, Switzerland. All his major works - novels, stories, an autobiography, poems, plays, lectures, essays and reviews - are published in Penguin Modern Classics.Mary McCarthy (Introducer)Mary McCarthy was an American literary critic and author of more than two dozen books. Her debut novel, The Company She Keeps, initiated her ascent to become one of the most celebrated writers of her generation, a reputation bolstered by her controversial 1963 New York Times bestseller The Group, which was banned in Australia for its frank portrayal of female sexuality. McCarthy was married four times, including to the critic Edmund Wilson. She died in 1989. Review 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 Kirkus US Review Another wholly different, baffling, brilliant book, full of word plays and tricky meanings. "Mans life as commentary to abstruse / Unfinished poem," writes the old poet, John Shade, in a long, personal, old-mans poem about life and death. Shade (happily married) and Charles Kinbote (homosexual) are teachers at Wordsmith College. What Kinbote does with Shades poem, after Shades death, supplies the kernel of the story - that, and what his deed does to him; and the whole development with its odd perversions and symbolisms is at times marvellously funny, often poignantly tragic. Perhaps, since the obscure symbolism forces the reader into reflecting Kinbote in a Kinbote-type, personal commentary, it would be unfair to give away more of the plot (if so it can be termed). The book is a box-within-boxes joke. Perhaps this is to be expected of Nabokov, as are also the dazzling flash of reversible meanings, puns, marvelously tangible writing, and cold, frightening resemblances to reality. Major publisher backing, for this is Nabokovs first novel written since Lolita. Count on intellectual snob appeal. (Kirkus Reviews) Review Text 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 Review Quote 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 Details ISBN0141185260 Publisher Penguin Books Ltd Year 2000 ISBN-10 0141185260 ISBN-13 9780141185262 Format Paperback Publication Date 2000-08-31 Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom DEWEY 813.54 Author Vladimir Nabokov Media Book Birth 1899 Death 1977 Short Title PALE FIRE Language English Residence St. Petersburg, RUR Pages 256 Imprint Penguin Classics Series Penguin Modern Classics UK Release Date 2000-08-31 Alternative 9780141912868 Audience General NZ Release Date 2001-06-13 AU Release Date 2001-06-13 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:13639452;

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