Pale Fire
American novelist, 1899–1977.
Pale Fire is a 1962 novel by Vladimir Nabokov. It was shortlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction in 1963.
On 4 of the 17 lists it was eligible for.
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At a glance
- Author
- Vladimir Nabokov
- First published
- 1962
- Length
- 256 pages (UK paperback)
- Awards
- National Book Award for Fiction shortlist, 1963
- Genre
- Literary fiction, Postmodern
Is Pale Fire worth reading?
4 of the 17 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian) and 100 Best Novels (board's list) (Modern Library).
| List | Place | Original |
|---|---|---|
| 100 Best Novels (board's list) (Modern Library, 1998) | No. 53 | See the list |
| All-Time 100 Novels (Time, 2005) | Listed | See the list |
| National Book Award for Fiction (winners and finalists) (National Book Foundation, 1963) | Shortlist | See the list |
| The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian, 2026) | No. 29 | See the list |
Best edition of Pale Fire
The edition we link to is the Penguin Classics paperback (2000), 256 pages.
- Publisher
- Penguin Classics (paperback, 2000)
- Pages
- 256
- ISBN
- 9780141185262
How critics, prizes and readers rate Pale Fire
Prize juries and critics rate it about equally: it earned 33% on prize lists and 30% on critics' lists, against 0% on readers' and booksellers' lists.
Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work
Books like Pale Fire
If you liked Pale Fire, try Lolita.
