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Nabokov's "pale Fire": The Magic of Artistic Discovery
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Nabokov's "pale Fire": The Magic of Artistic Discovery Hardback - 1999

by Brian Boyd

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Reader reviews for Nabokov's "pale Fire": The Magic of Artistic Discovery

From the publisher

Pale Fire is regarded by many as Vladimir Nabokov's masterpiece. The novel has been hailed as one of the most striking early examples of postmodernism and has become a famous test case for theories about reading because of the apparent impossibility of deciding between several radically different interpretations. Does the book have two narrators, as it first appears, or one? How much is fantasy and how much is reality? Whose fantasy and whose reality are they? Brian Boyd, Nabokov's biographer and hitherto the foremost proponent of the idea that Pale Fire has one narrator, John Shade, now rejects this position and presents a new and startlingly different solution that will permanently shift the nature of critical debate on the novel. Boyd argues that the book does indeed have two narrators, Shade and Charles Kinbote, but reveals that Kinbote had some strange and highly surprising help in writing his sections. In light of this interpretation, Pale Fire now looks distinctly less postmodern--and more interesting than ever.

In presenting his arguments, Boyd shows how Nabokov designed Pale Fire for readers to make surprising discoveries on a first reading and even more surprising discoveries on subsequent readings by following carefully prepared clues within the novel. Boyd leads the reader step-by-step through the book, gradually revealing the profound relationship between Nabokov's ethics, aesthetics, epistemology, and metaphysics. If Nabokov has generously planned the novel to be accessible on a first reading and yet to incorporate successive vistas of surprise, Boyd argues, it is because he thinks a deep generosity lies behind the inexhaustibility, complexity, and mystery of the world. Boyd also shows how Nabokov's interest in discovery springs in part from his work as a scientist and scholar, and draws comparisons between the processes of readerly and scientific discovery.

This is a profound, provocative, and compelling reinterpretation of one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century.

Details

  • Title Nabokov's "pale Fire": The Magic of Artistic Discovery
  • Author Brian Boyd
  • Binding Hardback
  • Edition [ Edition: First
  • Pages 320
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, U.S.A
  • Publication date 1999
  • ISBN 9780691009599 / 0691009597
  • Weight 1.38 lbs (0.63 kg)
  • Dimensions 9 x 6 x 0.98 in (22.86 x 15.24 x 2.49 cm)
  • Category Literature - Classics / Criticism
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 99030682
  • Dewey Decimal Code 813.54

About the author

Brian Boyd is Distinguished University Professor in the Department of English at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is the author of the prize-winning Vladimir Nabokov: The Russian Years (Princeton 1990), Vladimir Nabokov: The American Years (Princeton 1991), and Nabokov's Ada: The Place of Consciousness. Referred to in a recent journal as "the great man of Nabokov studies," he has also edited Nabokov's English novels and autobiography for the Library of America and Nabokov's Butterflies for Beacon Press.

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Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery
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Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery

by Brian Boyd

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9780691009599 / 0691009597
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[ Edition: First ]. Good Condition. [ No Hassle 30 Day Returns ][ Ships Daily ] [ Underlining/Highlighting: NONE ] [ Writing: NONE ] Publisher: Princeton University Press Pub Date: 11/15/1999 Binding: Hardcover Pages: 320
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Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999. New Book. Hardcover, dust jacket, 303 pp. "Pale Fire" is regarded by many as Vladimir Nabokov's masterpiece. The novel has been hailed as one of the most striking early examples of postmodernism and has become a famous test case for theories about reading because of the apparent impossibility of deciding between several radically different interpretations. Does the book have two narrators, as it first appears, or one? How much is fantasy and how much is reality? Whose fantasy and whose reality are they? Brian Boyd, Nabokov's biographer and hitherto the foremost proponent of the idea that "Pale Fire" has one narrator, John Shade, now rejects this position and presents a new and startlingly different solution that will permanently shift the nature of critical debate on the novel. Boyd argues that the book does indeed have two narrators, Shade and Charles Kinbote, but reveals that Kinbote had some strange and highly surprising help in writing his sections.… Read more
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Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery

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Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999. First Edition. Hardcover w. Dust Jacket. Fine/Fine. Princeton University Press NJ 1999 First Edition - Nabokov's Pale Fire The Magic of Artistic Discovery by Brian Boyd - Fine jacket on fine boards, no marks or defects, clean blue boards, clean internally, square and firmly bound. From the personal collection of editor and poet J.D. "Sandy" McClatchy.
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Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery
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Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery

by Boyd, Brian

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Princeton University Press, 1999-11-15. No Edition Stated. hardcover. Used: Good. 6.75x1.25x9.75. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
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Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery
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Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery

by Boyd, Brian

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Princeton University Press. hardcover. Good. 6.8x1.3x9.8. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
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by Boyd, Brian

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Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery
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Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery

by Boyd, Brian

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Princeton University Press, 1999-11-15. hardcover. Like New. 5x1x8. Hardcover with fine dust jacket. Book is in Excellent condition, pages are clean and tight.
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Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery

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Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery
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Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery

by Boyd, Brian

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hardcover. Good. Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items. May be an ex-library book.
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Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery
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Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery

by Boyd, Brian

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780691009599 / 0691009597
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Princeton University Press, 1999-12-04. hardcover. New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title!
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