Lolita

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Average customer rating 4.9 (11 comments)

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As someone who likes to consider themselves an avid reader, I am almost constantly reading. That being said, I often read books that are easily forgotten. This book was not one of them. Lolita, a novel written by Vladimir Nabokov, details the life of Humbert Humbert, a literary scholar, with an disturbing obsession for younger girls. Within the first few chapters of this novel, I was both horrified and astounded by Humbert's antics. It also became very clear that he was not, in fact, a reliable narrator. After making this discovery I started to realize just how demented and dark this novel is. Nabokov's writing style is very unique and made this a story that was very hard to put down. This novel gives the reader the chance to peer inside Humbert's mind and see what he is really thinking whether the reader wants to or not. Humbert is a very persusive man and at times, as embarrassed as I am to say this, made me pity him and take his side. If it were up to me, I would have everyone I know read this devastating yet powerful novel. Congratulations Nabokov, your novel changed the way I think about things.

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Lolita was very entrancing. The writing was very skilled and beautiful- the words flowed like ballerinas through my head. The story, in and of itself, was very disturbing. This book is an amazing book in its entirety.

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If you are browsing this review you might be contemplating reading Lolita, or the Confession of a White Widowed Male by Vladimir Nabokov; and I have one opinion on that, READ IT! Not to spoil the book, but here is a brief summary of Lolita: Humbert Humbert the narrator and main character of Lolita writes to us, his “jury” the events of his life and the twisted reason behind them. As a young child Humbert fell in love with a girl named Annabel, they are very sexual but don’t have sex before Annabel’s death. This leaves Humbert stuck on his love and every trait about her, including her youth. He tries to escape his lust for young girls whom he calls Nymphets, but even with marriage he cannot escape the pull they have on his heart and in his pants. During a trip to the United States (he is originally from France) he rents a room from Charlotte Haze, who just happens to have a young pre pubescent daughter, named Lolita. Through events Lolita and Humbert become lovers, which leads them on a cross-country trip that ends with heartbreak and death. Here is a little background information on the author Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov. He was born in Russia in 1899, after the Russian Revolution his family and he where exiled to England. His writing carrier first started with writing in Russian, but a move to America with his wife and son inspired him to write in English. Many publishers turned down Lolita due to its obscene topic; many countries also banned the novel. No book had been written like Lolita, exploring the dark side of sex and impure ideas. Nobokov’s beautiful diction and use of literary elements paints a beautiful picture with such a horrible subject; an example of this is this is Humberts ablity to express his love of Lolita “ I loved you. I was a pentapod monster, but I loved you. I was despicable and brutal, and turpid, and everything, mais je t’aimais, je taimais” (32.) The use of foreshadowing and fate is very aperient through out the whole book, from the reparation of numbers to name and titles creating a whole connection between every detail of the book. One theme I found very prominent through out the novel is the stereotypical suburban blindness; as long as the handsome face of Humbert kept up his appearance and kept his dark secrets hidden no one ever questioned the charming man and his “daughter”. Being the first of it’s kind; Lolita opened the world to a new point of view and darkness. The book does leave out how Lolita feels and ends without hearing her outcome but by doing so it leaves the reader with questions and is an artist choice chosen by Nabokov. Lolita set the bar high for many postmodernist novels and philological novels. The secret lives of the American suburban social class has a dark secret hidden by perfection of appearances and this theme is exceptionally shown through this novel. In conclusion I deem Lolita a must read, its an amazing and controversial master piece!

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One of the best books I have ever read.

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Wonderfully written novel. I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves good literature.

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This book made me fall in love with words. I didn't realize how powerful words can be, how much control they can have over the mind until Lolita. As Humbert Humbert, the narrator, says,"You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style." Readers can often be disturbed by the subject matter, most notably pedophilia, but what makes this story brilliant is Nabokov's ability to make you sympathize with an inherently unlikable character. Its poetic manipulation is what makes Lolita unforgettable.

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A true classic. Beautiful language over a terrible but thoroughly engaging story.

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Lolita is a modern classic. Nabokov manages to do something that view authors rarely accomplish: make such a taboo subject human and even delightfully funny at times. Definitely one of my favorite books of all time.

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It seems nothing new can be said about Nabokov's masterpiece "Lolita", because if it hasn't been printed, surely it has been uttered by someone, somewhere. With so many different angles and aftertastes on so widely-read a novel, I almost feel the need to be careful in this silly little reader's review rather than off-the-cuff about my first acquainting. With that in mind, I'll say then that I'm sure I'll read it again, and possibly yet again, to scour and scratch at the layers, the innuendo, the objective, the subjective. Beyond initial gasps and shocks, beyond the equally wicked thrills of meeting Humbert Humbert (whose voice is a much sharper, smarter, bigger and more refined Truman Capote) and Dolly (Dolores) "Lo-Lee-Ta" Haze, the prose is razzle-dazzle, the plot is a hell of a ride, and the range of emotions invoked while traveling through these 300-some pages are all over the map. If it's on your shelf, read it. If it's not, buy it, and then actually read it. My first thought after turning the last page: I'm glad I lived long enough to have read this book. Prior, and unbeknownst to me (as with all discovery), I was missing a piece.

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Called "brilliant" and "scandalous" and everything in between, this is Nabokov's crowning work. While the subject matter is a bit taboo, even today, the writing is excellent and you'll lose yourself in the book while you're wondering if Lolita is seducing Mr. Humbert, or if Mr. Humbert is seducing Lolita. A must read!

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Before 'Lolita's' first publication, Nabokov himself insisted that there should be no little girl on the book's cover; he didn't want anyone buying the book for the obvious reason. Yet, as we see, the cover gets 'sexier' with every new edition. Pretty nice lips on this one. Creepy. One of those books, like 'Ulysses' and 'Underworld,' that many bookish people feature in their libraries and very few have actually read from cover to cover. Nabokov, ever the cryptographer, hid things even from those who have; I'll bet you you didn't know that you've been pronouncing the book's title incorrectly all these years, did you? Great book. Knew a woman who knew the actress who played the eponymous heroine in the synonymous film: Sue Lyon. Poor girl ended up a waitress! Mrs. Dick Schiller indeed. Buy this book and think of her!