Pale Fire, by Nabokov--March 24, 2026

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be April 24, 2026.   

We will discuss the book, Pale Fire, by Vladimir Nabokov.  

Meeting Date & Time:

• Date: March 24, 2026 

• Time 7:00 pm

Hybrid Zoom & In-Person Meeting:

• In-person meeting, Little Conference Room, Plaza Branch Library

• Zoom link sent to mailing list on day of meeting

• Request mailing list addition, send to GreatBooksKC@gmail.com

About the Book: 

Pale Fire is a novel presented as a 999-line poem titled "Pale Fire", written by the fictional poet John Shade, with a foreword, lengthy commentary, and index written by Shade's neighbor and academic colleague, Charles Kinbote. Together these elements form a narrative in which both fictional authors are central characters. Nabokov wrote Pale Fire in 1960–61, after the success of Lolita had made him financially independent, allowing him to retire from teaching and return to Europe. Nabokov began writing the novel in Nice and completed it in Montreux, Switzerland.

March 27, 2026 — Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be March 27, 2026.   

We will discuss the book, Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen.

Meeting Date & Time:

• Date: March 27, 2026 

• Time 7:00 pm

Hybrid Zoom & In-Person Meeting:

• In-person meeting, Little Conference Room, Plaza Branch Library

• Zoom link sent to mailing list on day of meeting

• Request mailing list addition, send to GreatBooksKC@gmail.com

About the Book: 

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen was published in 1813 (but written about twenty years earlier when the author was approximately twenty years old). A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of the book, who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness. 

Feb. 27, 2026— Tokyo Express, by Seichō Matsumoto

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be February 27, 2026.   

We will discuss the book,Tokyo Express, by Matsumoto

Meeting Date & Time:
• Date: February 27, 2026 
• Time 7:00 pm

Hybrid Zoom & In-Person Meeting:
• In-person meeting, Little Conference Room, Plaza Branch Library
• Zoom link sent to mailing list on day of meeting
• Request mailing list addition, send to GreatBooksKC@gmail.com

About the Book: 

Tokyo Express, original title Ten to Sen (Ponts & Lines), is a 1958 Japanese mystery novel by Seichō Matsumoto. It is considered a masterpiece of the "social realism” mystery genre, and is known for its intricate plot that unravels a supposed lovers' suicide to reveal a major government corruption scandal. The story follows two detectives who use meticulous analysis of train timetables and other details to connect seemingly unrelated "points" and disprove the official theory, highlighting post-war Japanese society and its complexities. 

Jan 30, 2026—Sorrows of Young Werter, by Goethe

The next meeting of Great Books KC will be January 30, 2026.   

We will discuss the book, Sorrows of Young Werter, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Meeting Date & Time:
• Date: January 30, 2026 
• Time 7:00 pm

Hybrid Zoom & In-Person Meeting:
• In-person meeting, Little Conference Room, Plaza Branch Library
• Zoom link sent to mailing list on day of meeting
• Request mailing list addition, send to GreatBooksKC@gmail.com

About the Book: 

The Sorrows of Young Werther is a 1774 epistolary novel by Johann Wolfgang Goethe, which appeared as a revised edition in 1787. This work placed Goethe among the foremost international literary celebrities and was among the best known of his works. It was one of the main novels in the Sturm und Drang period in German literature, and influenced the later Romantic movement.