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Pale Fire
by NABOKOV, Vladimir
- Used
- near fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Near Fine/Near Fine
- Seller
-
Glendale, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
First UK edition of this witty, ironic and complex tour de forceâ (Hart, 521). Octavo, original black cloth. Fine in an unclipped near fine dust jacket with a little creasing and slight yellowing to the spine. "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). This brilliant parody of literary scholarship is also an experimental synthesis of Nabokovâ s talents for both poetry and prose. It extends and completes his mastery of unorthodox structureâ (Encyclopedia of Literature, 851). Listed by Modern Library as one of the 100 greatest novels of the twentieth century.
Synopsis
Pale Fire (1962) is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is presented as a poem titled "Pale Fire" with commentary by a friend of the poet's. Together these elements form a narrative in which both authors are central characters. Pale Fire has spawned a wide variety of interpretations and a large body of written criticism. The Nabokov authority Brian Boyd has called it "Nabokov's most perfect novel".
Reviews
On Oct 5 2022, a reader said:
I really enjoyed this book, but it wasn’t the easiest to read. The format of a poem and its commentary revealed the story, rather than being told in a linear narrative. The story jumped around a lot and you really have to be present while reading, otherwise you will get lost. I read from start to finish, however I would reread it and try jumping around a bit to see how it changes the understanding.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Reginald C. Williams Rare Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 314
- Title
- Pale Fire
- Author
- NABOKOV, Vladimir
- Format/Binding
- Publisher's cloth with dust wrapper
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Near Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Weidenfeld and Nicolson
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1962
- Size
- 8vo.
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- Russian Literature, Fiction
- Bookseller catalogs
- NEW arrivals for May 2023;
Terms of Sale
Reginald C. Williams Rare Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Reginald C. Williams Rare Books
Biblio member since 2021
Glendale, California
Ask Seller a Question
About Reginald C. Williams Rare Books
Reginald C. Williams Rare Books LLC, specializes in books from the 16th through 20th century. We stock many books in the field of literature, Western philosophy, Greek classics, the history of ideas, Medicine & Science & fine sets. We are always looking to purchase individual books in our areas of interest.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
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