I read the thousand-line poem and began on the commentary ... and just got bored. So I read about 30% of the book, and I didn't care for it.
People with a better background in English, poetry or philosophy might find it fascinating & great. ( )

Previously 3 stars, now 4 stars. The first time I experienced this story was through an audio book, which in my opinion is a mistake. This is a very visual book and benefits greatly from reading it in it's textual form.

Previous review:
DNF after 3 chapters.

I find the concept of the book darkly hilarious, and really it is well executed, but my issue with it is that the commentator, Charles Kinbote, is so self absorbed and dreadfully dull that I just can't handle it from beginning to end.

My summary, from the few chapters I read:
The original conspiracy theory. Through incredibly obscure connections far-jumped conclusions, Charles Kinbote convinces himself that his late neighbor and stalkee's poetry manuscript, and even death, is all about him.

Charles is a paranoid, narcissistic megalomaniac. From poems about John's love for his wife to the death of their daughter, Charles interprets it all as being about himself. Charles is obsessed and infatuated with John to a worrying degree, but even at that, there is no one he loves more than himself. ( )

I just finished this and wanted to get down some of my thoughts before reading any criticism. There is a severe thunderstorm passing through and a strange blue light is flashing on my street and I thought I saw sparks jump from a neighboring rooftop.

I've been sick and bedridden all day which afforded me the time to read. This novel is meant to be a puzzle. Is Kinbote insane? Is Zembla real? What kind of literary graffiti has the narrator sprayed all over John Shade's poem? Where is Nabokov in all of this? Is he closer to the egomaniac "king" or the staid poet?

What I love about this is that this seems to be a highly self-conscious act of the writer and professor unpacking what these jobs, these roles mean. The poem "Pale Fire" is itself, moving and elegiac. The stanzas about Shade's daughter's suicide are heartrending. Of course, Kinbote is not interested in the Shades' family drama. ( )

Not light reading, but worth the effort! ( )

Strange but captivating.

Took a while to figure out what was going on. Still some mysteries unsolved. Worth a little patience and careful reading. ( )