Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov

IMPORTANT! Please see notes below and in the Comments regarding how to read this novel (in what order to read the chapters).

OUR VENUE FOR FEBRUARY WILL BE AT KEVIN'S HOME NEAR DOWNTOWN BERKELEY, A FEW BLOCKS FROM BART.

Upcoming books and meetings:
Sunday, Feb 8, 2026: Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
Sunday, Mar 8, 2026: The Einstein of Sex by Daniel Brook
Sunday, Apr 12, 2026: Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst
Sunday, May 10, 2026: The American by Henry James
Sunday, Jun 14, 2026: TBD

A book that imprisons us inside the maze-like head of a mad émigré, and a darkly comic novel of suspense, literary idolatry and one-upmanship from the acclaimed author of Lolita.

An ingeniously-constructed parody of detective fiction and learned commentary, Pale Fire offers a cornucopia of deceptive pleasures, at the center of which is a 999-line poem written by the literary genius John Shade just before his death.

Surrounding the poem is a foreword and commentary by the demented scholar Charles Kinbote, who interweaves adoring literary analysis with the fantastical tale of an assassin from the land of Zembla in pursuit of a deposed gay king.

"Half-poem, half-prose...a creation of symmetry, strangeness, originality and moral truth." —Mary McCarthy

NOTES:
This is an unusual and playful novel that needs to be read in a non-sequential order to be understood.

Please read in this order. Otherwise, you'll be confused and the story won't make sense.

1 Foreword
2 Commentary
3 Index
4 Poem
5 re-read Foreword

When reading the Commentary, which consists of nothing but footnotes, please do NOT refer back to the Poem. You will be wasting your time and confusing yourself if you do. The Commentary (footnotes) has very little to do with the Poem it allegedly refers back to.

Please do the same with the Index and ignore any refer-backs to the Poem, which you will read after the Index.

After you finish the book, you'll understand why it needs to be read in this order. It's a wild and fun read. Enjoy!

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This is a casual gathering of gay men held on the second Sunday of the month. We have fun and stimulating discussions about quality gay literature while sharing a potluck meal.

Books are selected by participants several months in advance, and the only requirements for attending are to RSVP, to bring food and/or a beverage to share, and to have read a substantial part (at least half) of the book being discussed.

If you're coming, please add a "comment" on this page saying what you'll be bringing for the potluck, so we're less likely to end up with only one type of food. Store-bought food is fine!

Gather at 2:00 for potluck; discussion begins at 3:00 and ends by 4:30.
Event is at a private residence a few blocks from downtown Berkeley BART, and space is limited, so be sure to sign up soon!