Fuoco pallido

I. Foreword With deepest sorrows, I regret to inform everyone to the death of fellow Goodreads reviewer, and my dear friend, s.penkevich. While he may have departed, I, Vincent Kephes, have taken upon myself the burden of collecting his notes and the half-finished reviews that he left behind in order Leggi tutto

I ¹ liked ² this book ³ , especially the poem ⁴. ____________________________________ ¹ When I use the first-person singular pronoun, I am here referring to my normal persona. I have also, at various times, maintained other personas. For example, between 1999 and 2001, I used to play chess regularly on the Leggi tutto

Stop it Nabokov, you're making every other writer on this planet look terrible. This novel, which basically rejects every element and characteristic of our common conceptions of "novels", is a masterpiece of form and structure. It is a book made up entirely of footnotes. In the beginning, we are pres Leggi tutto

“The summer night was starless and stirless, with distant spasms of silent lightning.” ― Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire Do you enjoy reading the poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats, Lord Byron and William Butler Yates? If so, then Vladimir Nabokov might be your favorite novelist, since this master Leggi tutto

To write an enigmatic and wonderful poem and then to write a book of convoluted and profound commentaries to it – only the genius of Vladimir Nabokov was capable to make this literary feat. I was the shadow of the waxwing slainBy the false azure in the windowpane… Poets and their ideals… Poets and the Leggi tutto

Whenever anyone asks me what's the funniest novel I've ever read I always nominate Pale Fire. I always thought it was my favourite Nabokov but on second reading I'm not so sure this still holds true. It's one of those books that relies heavily on its ingenious surprises and second time round its com Leggi tutto

I loved this, especially as my copy of the book seemed to operate on a meta-meta-meta-meta-level. The book initially appears to be an unfinished poem, 'Pale Fire', by a dead writer named John Shade, together with a foreword, detailed commentary and index by a friend of his, Charles Kinbote. But Kinbot Leggi tutto

My initial strong impression was - Nabokov does not care about his reader. He cares only about his craft, the process of creation and the satisfaction it brings. His ability to squeeze the aesthetic effect from the language is magical. He plays with the words, their musicality - the amount of allite Leggi tutto