Pale Fire

Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An interesting premise: a 999-line 4part Canto explicated by a fellow professor. Within the novel are at least 3 main stories--the story of Shade in form of the Canto; the story of Kinbote the fellow professor; and the story of an exiled king of Zembla and a would be regicide by Gradus. The poem is beautiful--I loved it just as is. The explication stories are amusing but a little plodding. I know there are schools of thought about what is true, who actually existed, etc. But I suppose I would have to be in a discussion group to really get involved in all that. As is, its an interesting presentation and an entertaining read.

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The sun is a thief; she lures the sea and robs it.  The moon is a their: he steals his silvery light from the sun.  The sea is a thief:  it dissolves the moon.