Pale Fire: A Poem in Four Cantos by John Shade Hardcover – October 1, 2011

I mostly used the pamphlet form of the poem, but seeing the poem in longhand on index cards, exactly as John Shade (and very probably VN) wrote it, was pleasing but less handy to read since the cards are loose. The pamphlet form is easier to flip from one part to another.The poem "Pale Fire" is very different from the rest of the novel Pale Fire, and bears separation well. The poem is not at all "deliberately bad" as some criticism has had it. It is excellent.

Nicely made, with cards and all, edition of Pale Fire. Will make a great gift for a literature buff.For those unfamiliar with the book: the poem Pale Fire is written by John Shade. His crazy "friend" Kinbote kidnaps the manuscript and comments profusely on it. In fact, his comments take up the bigger part of the book. Both Shade and Kinbote are products of Vladimir Nabokov's imagination.This edition is a hard-bound exterior folio with a stack of cards (the draft) and a small book with the final edition of the poem. Very cute!

This version of "Pale Fire" is a truly attractive and interesting concept in the production of one of Nabokov's greatest masterpieces. The original book is based on a 999 line poem of extraordinary wonder in 4 Cantos. In addition, there is an extensive interpretive statement also written by Nabokov, under the guise of a 'Professor Kinbote.' The publishers of this version of the book had a wonderful concept. They rendered the 999 line poem on index cards, as Nabokov would have utilized in his creation of this great masterpiece. Aesthetically, the rendering of this version is truly exceptional. However, the premise of the production is aberrant in one serious respect.The publisher seeks to emphasize the beauty and wonder of Nabokov's poem, and does this along with two wonderful interpretive commentaries never before published. However, they completely eliminate the commentary by 'Prof. Kinbote,' writing him off as a crazy lunatic with an obscure and absurd interpretive commentary on the poem. The odd thing about this choice is that 'Kinbote' is not a real person, who is a crazy lunatic. Rather, Kinbote is also a creation of Nabokov himself and the true and full meaning of the poem's underlying amazement is ONLY revealed through the comments of 'Kinbote.' To exclude his commentary from the publication is truly to rob the reader of some of the most intricate and important aspects of the book as Nabokov originally rendered his work. Even more surprising is that one of the commentators in this edition is Brian Boyd, who wrote a biography of Nabokov and of all people, should have been one of the most illuminated people with respect to Nabokov's multi-tiered levels of meaning in virtually everything he wrote. While Boyd's interpretation of the poem is surely interesting and revealing, it fails to serve the reader in helping him/her in the interpretation of what Nabokov is saying in one of his most seminal works.While the publication is truly beautiful in its conception, it is really something that is only for Nabokov collectors and for others who are not as steeped in Nabokovian literature, as it fails to assist the reader in interpreting all of Nabokov's brilliant conveyances which lie very much in the 'Kinbote Commentary.' Nonetheless, for those who are truly Nabokov collectors, this publication of "Pale Fire" is something that should not be missing from a full collection of Nabokov's work. Therefore, I would recommend that true lovers of Nabokov's literature do invest in purchasing a copy of this publication as it does add to the fullness of the wonder of Nabokovian inspiration.

This book has been delayed in my Amazon cart for MONTHS! Despite the wait I can say this is a must have for Nabokovians. The format for the product is as follows: Shades poem, Nabokov's note cards, and Boyd's commentary, which are all housed inside the pictured clamshell box. All I should say is that I bought a second copy. Great price, nice construction despite the Chinese publishing house (often this spells low quality production, but not here), and, well it's Nabokov and Boyd.

Was a gift for myself, as it is my favorite book of all time, and this serves as a wonderful rendering of the story, physically manifested into our own world!

Having recently read Pale Fire, the novel by Vladimir Nabokov which revolves around this poem by fictional author John Shade, I found this presentation of the poem on index cards enchanting. The box includes the "hand written" poem on index cards, the poem printed on its own in a small booklet, and a separate slim volume with two very in depth critical essays about the poem.

It's difficult to imagine that anyone would think it a good idea to publish Shade's poem without the Kinbote commentary. This work is INCOMPLETE. I ordered it because I wanted to be able to read the poem on note-cards side-by-side with the commentary (rather than having to flip back and forth like in other editions). I received my copy the other day, and was horrified to find that this edition contains TWO copies of Shade's poem, TWO critical essays, but no so much as a mention of Kinbote. I only wish I would have been more attentive before I ordered.

Beautifully published! Buy it NOT INSTEAD of the regular edition of Pale Fire but IN ADDITION to it. As a book fetish, this version of Pale Fire competes only with The Original of Laura.

Was a gift. My friend was very impressed with this item.

This item is advertised as 'Pale Fire', but I expected the rest of the book, as well as the poem. I some reviewers have said that they were at fault for not reading the description more carefully. I disagree. Say I bought a film about Bob Dylan in a beautifully packaged box and opened it- only to find that the box contained some of Dylan's lyrics and a commentary of these lyrics by professor so and so. This is exactly what has happened in this instance. Technically, the publishers haven't been dishonest- only extremely misleading. And for almost $50, you haven't even got all of Pale Fire- only the poem, which is only one part of the text.I will be returning this item, but I also suggest that the publishers should withdraw this product from the market, until they can include the rest of Pale Fire in this boxset.