Pale Fire

A murder mystery, a rampaging satire of campus life in America, a topsy-turvy commentary by a deranged  literary critic, a geopolitical puzzle, a clever & poignant poem: Vladimir Nabokov’s Pale Fire is a masterpiece of post-modernism:  a virtuoso performance in elegant prose, verse, and ideas.  This is easily one of the finest novels of the 20^th century – see anyone’s “Best of” list.  Why?  In a nutshell, it's emotionally ingenious and artistically exuberant.  If you’ve begun to visit college campuses -- or certainly, once you get there to stay -- you might easily begin to imagine Nabokov’s madcap adventures in academia.