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I debated for a long time (a long time for me; it was about two hours) whether to give this book four or five stars. Tedious and downright boring at times, it is an otherwise incredibly intricate and enjoyable account of the death of a famous poet, John Shade, and the publishing of his final poem, Pale Fire, by his close friend and neighbour Dr. Charles Kinbote. The novel is broken down rather uniquely, and the order in which you read the book matters, and is not obvious unless you've done independent research into the opinions of others who have read the book (or have already read it once yourself). Here is a numbered breakdown of the elements in the order they appear in the book, and notes on what parts to read in what order:

1. Foreword (appears in the book first and should be read first)
2. Pale Fire poem (see note to 3)
3. Commentary on the poem Pale Fire (read this at the same time as the poem in 2, flipping back and forth to the Commentary notes for the lines in the poem as you are reading them)

It is critical to read the book in this order, as the Commentary section contains information that supplements and explains parts of the poem (and thus the story as a whole), and also as you may forget what the Commentary corresponds to later if you read the book in its written order, as the poem is rather long (39 pages in my edition and 999 lines long in any edition).

Getting back to the book itself, I found it to be an unnerving trek down a winding path of madness. This book is alternately high fantasy, fictional autobiography, mystery, descent into madness, and much more. Its unreliable narrator and the tale he weaves makes you question the reality of everything you read in this novel. In Pale Fire things may be crystal clear to you, or you may find more questions than you do answers. I felt both ways throughout this book, and that's the beauty of it.

Overall, though tedious and a slog at times, the rewards far outweigh the sometimes difficult journey, and I highly recommend Pale Fire.