Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov (Book Analysis)

This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov. It provides a thorough exploration of the novel’s plot, characters and main themes, as well as a useful discussion of its innovative form. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.

This clear and detailed 48-page reading guide is structured as follows:

• Biography of Vladimir Nabokov
• Presentation of Pale Fire
• Summary of Pale Fire
• Character study
  • John Shade
  • Charles Kinbote
  • King Charles Xavier (a.k.a. Charles Kinbote)
  • Hazel Shade
• Analysis of Pale Fire
  • Genre
  • Outsiderdom and foreignness
  • Style
  • Criticism

About Pale Fire

Pale Fire takes the form of a poem in four cantos by the great American poet John Shade, accompanied by an extensive commentary by his editor Charles Kinbote, an exile from the country of Zembla, which has just been rocked by a violent revolution. Kinbote’s digressive contributions reveal as much about him as they do about Shade, resulting in a compelling narrative that resists easy interpretation.

The Modern Library ranked Pale Fire 53^rd on its list of the 100 greatest English-language novels of the 20^th century, and it is widely seen as one of Nabokov’s crowning achievements.

About Vladimir Nabokov

Vladimir Nabokov was a Russian-American novelist. Although he was born in Russia, during the Revolution he was forced to flee to Europe, where he studied literature, wrote his first books and gained recognition as a Russian-speaking author. He later moved to the USA, and became an American citizen in 1945. He began to write in English, which brought him a new audience and increased his renown. His fame exploded on a global scale with the publication of Lolita, his best-known novel, and he is now considered to be one of the greatest writers of the 20^th century.