Nabokov's Pale fire : the magic of artistic discovery /

Vladimir Nabokov's Pale Fire (1962) figures on several best-novels-of-the-20th-century lists. A beautiful and labyrinthine work, it has been the subject of prolific critical study and debate since its publication. Which of its shimmering layers best reflects the novel's reality? Or is this question even resolvable? Author of the monumental two-volume critical biography Vladimir Nabokov: The Russian Years (CH, Jan'91) and ... The American Years (CH, Feb'92), and a monograph on Ada (Nabokov's Ada, 1985), Boyd (Univ. of Auckland) has been one of the chief players in this long discussion and is far and away Nabokov's best-informed and most subtle critic. Now, after 20 years, he partially retracts an earlier position and advances a radical new interpretation of Pale Fire that places the argument in a whole new dimension. Boyd moves through three levels of interpretation: the first two summarize scholarship to date; the third and longest presents Boyd's new argument. Although no analysis can be definitive, Boyd bases his new interpretation on a staggering wealth of textual and extratextual detail and is clearly right in his major argument. This breakthrough study belongs in every humanities collection. D. B. Johnson; emeritus, University of California, Santa Barbara

Interest in Nabokov has been kept up in recent years by such work as Boyd's monumental two-volume biography and Stacy Schiff's V‚ra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov). These two new studies will only enhance interest in Nabokov for some time to come. Boyd's new book is an intensive examination of Nabokov's Pale FireÄa book that many scholars consider his masterpiece, since it lends itself to a variety of interpretations. Boyd looks at these interpretations and offers his own insights, some of which have changed over the years. He argues that the genius of Pale Fire is that while it can be read easily in a straightforward manner, further readings reveal a multilayered story that promts the reader to dig for deeper meanings. Boyd skillfully peels away the layers of this novel in a feast of literary detective work. He recommends that one read the novel before taking on his book. On the other hand, one need not read any of Nabokov's work to prepare for Johnson and Coates's Nabokov's Blues. Though he had no formal training in biology, Nabokov became an acknowledged expert on BluesÄa diverse group of Latin American butterflies. Here Johnson and Coates examine his butterfly studies in the context of recent scientific expeditions to South America. They succeed in presenting both a biographical and scientific study that brings new understanding to both Nabokov's writing and his place in science. Taken together, these books should keep the most ardent Nabokov reader busy for some time. Recommended for academic collections.ÄRonald Ratliff, Emporia P.L., KS (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.