Pale Fire

"Pale Fire" (1962) is the most unusual work by Vladimir Nabokov in form, consisting of an epigraph, a poem of the same name in 999 lines, a preface to it, an extensive commentary, and an index. The circumstances under which John Shade composed the brilliant poem in the last weeks of his life are refracted through the fantastic prism of the commentary, created by the mysterious and solitary admirer of the American poet, Charles Kinbote, who fills the world of "Pale Fire" with his own creative experience, memories, and fears. In this edition, the novel is published in the translation by Vera Nabokov.