Lolita

The Wondrous Paradox of Lolita

I picked up this book--already in love with the prose of Vladimir Nabokov--and I find almost every main character disgusting, vile, almost inhuman, but I could not put the book down. The beauty of the writing, the rhythmic flow of the descriptions, the tender gestures of the nymphet Dolores Haze, the subtlties of Nabokov's aliteration, the fluidness of instances, the sheer ability to run rapidly through dozens and dozens of scenes while keeping us 'or shall I say, Dear reader!' envisioned with Humbert, and his escapades around the America Vistas. The paradox, is here we have a book that revolts me in every physical way, but, the style, the rhythm, the cadence, the damn confidence! of Nabokov is enough to make me read on about our dear monster, and his Lolita!

15 out of 15 people found this review helpful.

Good summer read!

Lolita is a twisted story of lust and adoration. Humbert Humbert, becomes obsessed with his landlord's daughter out of some similarity to his childhood lover. He then marries his landlord, Mrs. Haze, in order to stay close to her daughter, Dolores the nymphet. After finding out about Humbert's lust for her daughter, Mrs. Haze is killed when she runs out of her house in hysterics and is struck by a car. The rest of the book proceeds with Humbert and Lolita's travels across America. The book is from Humbert's perspective and gives the reader some insight into the mind of a pedophile. Humbert prohibits her from having a normal childhood, perhaps because she is not a normal child. The reader understands his lust for this particular young girl. Even though Humbert's obsession with Lolita is perverse, it is still tragic when he loses her to another pedophile. The reader actually feels sorry for Humbert, the truly pathetic character that he is. Lolita is a very interesting book and Nabokov wrote it well. It is by no means a comedy, yet in all the drama of Humbert and Lolita's illicit affair, I leave out love because by no means did she feel that towards him. The situations with Mrs. Haze do supply some comic relief to an altogether catastrophic story. I chose this book because it is a classic, and I feel the need to read the classics. There were parts of this book that I thoroughly enjoyed. The novel has all the makings of a great story, for it includes all the components love, hate, death, sexuality, deceit, and violence, which altogether make Lolita very absorbing. However, there are slow parts with continuous descriptions that seem to go on for pages. These detailed descriptions left me bored for some time as I read. I did enjoy the story line and I found the situation these two characters found themselves in fascinating. I sometimes got stuck in the slow parts and felt uninspired to continue. I would recommend Lolita to someone as long as they are prepared for what is in store: intrigue interrupted by ongoing attention to detail. Nabokov revolutionized literature by addressing a previously taboo topic, making way for this very situation to be depicted in movies, TV shows, and other literature.

7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

Never Judge a Book By Its Awful Cover

This book ranks number 3 on my most beloved books, I normally take the book if it has an interesting cover so when i saw this horrible one I immediatly looked for another. The novel is absolutley superb in evey single way exept for the cover! When I read this in my fourth year of High School I was getting laughed at for reading a seemingly "Girl Book". This is one of the problems with the cover! It will turn down male readers, in which the text is applied to, and make them not want to read it...this book was also fun to parade around the school for the very reason that it made a lot of teachers uncomftrable, esspecially the Democrats that want things to be politicaly correct. I highly reccomend this novel to anyone who wants to see the mind of a pedophile in vivid detail.

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Difficult to Understand

Read this in high school and it took a while to interpret and understand everything that was going on. I don't recommend this book to anyone that is not a book worm who has a huge vocabulary. It is also a bit disturbing.

3 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

Lolita

A classic and one that I had placed in my list for a long while now and just never dared to buy. As Nabokov explains through his fictional introduction, this book is not pornographic and so, if that is what you are expecting, you better put the book down and go read something else. This is in fact¿a love story. Not to say it is not a messed up love story, because it is about a fully adult male and a twelve year old girl, which¿regardless of how you look at it, is all sorts of wrong.

The interesting thing here, is that if you replace pedophilia with just about any other romance, it becomes one hell of a romantic concept. What Nabokov has done is gone for the jugular and touched on the most unacceptable of taboos and in turn given it one of the most beautifully worded romance stories. But¿I do underscore the romance, which, initially was beginning to wear on me. While this looked to be a happy story, I actually considered putting the book down, mostly because I do not do romance so well. This too, Nabokov seems to have planned nicely, because just as I though this book may be too much of a love story for me, the author throws in the wrench into everything he has methodically built up. And in my opinion, that saves the story, where the happy ending seems forever ruined and the mystery begins.

Having now finished and being able to contemplate it from afar, the book rounds up nicely. It does some things with language which are just absolutely stunning and while I could do with a little bit less of romance and a bit more of the mystery, I do think this is a very good book and recognize it as such.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

A critique to the society

¿I found myself maturing amid a civilization which allows a man of twenty five to court a girl of sixteen but not a girl of twelve¿. But it¿s perhaps the truth? The society in which we live doesn¿t accept that for love there is no age. It¿s possible that we are so close-minded to recognize the love that an older person can feel to a young one. This is exactly what Navokov¿s book achieves. But not only the book captivate you for the simple fact that ois a critique to the society.It¿s necessary to admit the exceptional work that the author of the book realized. Nabokov dis an excellent narrative, and every time you read it you will know another thing, so you will continue reading it. In fact, I must confess that it¿s very strange that a book captivates me, but his one did it. This phenomenon happens because Lolita is a different book, and I said this because you don¿t read all the days that an older guy is in love with a girl of 15 years. Humbert relates his peaceful upbringing on the Riviera, where he encounters his first love, the twelve-year-old Annabel Leigh. Annabel and the thirteen-year-old Humbert never consummate their love, and Annabel¿s death from typhus four months later haunts Humbert. Eventually, Humbert comes to the United States and takes a room in the house of Widow Charlotte Haze in a sleepy, suburban New England town. He becomes instantly infatuated with her twelve-year-old daughter Dolores, also known as Lolita. Humbert follows Lolita¿s moves constantly, occasionally flirts with her, and confides his pedophiliac longings to a journal. Lolia has been one of he best books that I have read and though in some moments a bit grotesque and disagreeable moments returns to fulfill all my expectations. Lolita is a book which I recommend widely.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

Lolita is a magnificent book, written excellently by a superb author. It is not about sex, as I believe someone named Lionel Trilling has noted. It is not pornographic, nor sadistic. The book is about a man who loved, cherished, and lived for his adopted stepdaughter. All other nymphets of Humbert Humbert's are just mirages images glass that you cannot touch in the store without fear of breaking it. But Lolita was his one true love, and he punished all that would not see it that way. Even his fantasy that he would have the same relations with Lolita's daughter and her granddaughter can be explained: he thought he had to reincarnate her in another form, due to his pedophiliac craving. Granted, Humbert was responsible for the death of Lolita's mother, and he did not love her. He was not even a true pedophile...for he had sex with both his wives, and that was not just for show. But he did love his darling Lolita, and I commend Vladimir Nabokov for this outstanding book.

3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Lolita Book Review

Lolita is a twisted story of lust and adoration. Humbert Humbert, becomes obsessed with his landlord¿s daughter out of some similarity to his childhood lover. He then marries his landlord, Mrs. Haze, in order to stay close to her daughter, Dolores the nymphet. As his obsession spirals out of control, Dolores becomes Lolita and his wife becomes obsolete. After finding out about Humbert¿s lust for her daughter Mrs. Haze is killed when she runs out of her house in hysterics and is struck by a car. The rest of the book proceeds with Humbert and Lolita¿s travels across America. The book is from Humbert¿s perspective and gives the reader some insight into the mind of a pedophile. We see what he is willing to do and how far he is willing to go to keep his Lolita all for himself. He sacrifices her happiness and mental development by setting up strict rules that she must follow. Humbert prohibits her from having a normal childhood, perhaps because she is not a normal child. The reader understands his lust for this particular young girl. Even though Humbert¿s obsession with Lolita is perverse, it is still tragic when he loses her to another pedophile. The reader actually feels sorry for Humbert, the truly pathetic character that he is. Despite the subject matter, the novel is not vulgar, nor is it truly about sex. While Lolita¿s seduction of Humbert and Humbert¿s seduction of Lolita are noted there is no hint of graphic pornography. Lolita is a very interesting book and Nabokov wrote it well. It is by no means a comedy, yet in all the drama of Humbert and Lolita¿s illicit affair, I leave out love because by no means did she feel that towards him. The situations with Mrs. Haze do supply some comic relief to an altogether catastrophic story. I chose this book because it is a ¿classic,¿ and I feel the need to read ¿the classics.¿ There were parts of this book that I thoroughly enjoyed. The novel has all the makings of a great story, for it includes all the components love, hate, death, sexuality, deceit, and violence, which altogether make Lolita very intriguing. However, there are slow parts with continuous descriptions that seem to go on for pages. These detailed descriptions left me bored for some time as I read. I did enjoy the story line and I found the situation these two characters found themselves in fascinating. In retrospect I would say I enjoyed Lolita, but while reading it I felt differently. I sometimes got stuck in the slow parts and felt uninspired to continue. I would recommend Lolita to someone as long as they are prepared for what is in store: intrigue interrupted by ongoing attention to detail. Nabokov revolutionized literature by addressing a previously taboo topic, making way for this very situation to be depicted in movies, TV shows, and other literature.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Not easy

it was a good book but at the beggining I could barely understand what he was trying to say and had to check up some words in the dictionary. It was not a pleasure reading that book it felt more like working to enjoy it. I also had no feeling to the ending. Not what I was expecting. If you are like me who would like an enjoyable easy to read book i do not recommend this one.

2 out of 10 people found this review helpful.

Just plain bad writing

Flamboyant puffed-wheat wording with no substance. Adverbs are utilized in place of vivid verbs and action--the sign of a lazy writer. Adjectives stuck cheek to jowl in hopes of covering up an obvious lack of consideration for the reader. Too racy for American eyes? I don't think so. Mere pedagogy by a pedophile written for the 'spin cycle' crowd. If you're a Jane Austen or Danielle Steel fan, you'll love the book.

2 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

Disturbing yet well-written

I read this book because it was on a list of "30 books everyone should read before their 30th birthday" list and I was highly disturbed. I don't understand how some reviews call this book a love story. There's nothing loving about some old pervert taking sexual advantage of a child. This book made me quite angry and sad for all children who have been sexually abused or is currently being sexually abused and raped by someone they trusted. On another note, the book has also expanded my vocabulary since the author used a lot of words I had never seen before and he really had me going to my dictionary quite often. However, I really wouldn't recommend this book at all unless you're looking to expand your vocabulary.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A twisted romance

When first introduced to the novel of Lolita, I skimmed the back cover to see what the text was actually about. At first, I was hesitant to read this novel, mostly due to the more serious nature of it (don't get me wrong, I love books and movies that make me think), but as I started reading the first chapters, I realized I could not put it down. Nabokov's style is prevalent throughout the entire novel and his imagination created, in my opinion, one of the best books I have ever read. I know that in 20 years from now, this book will be on my shelf. The way Humbert starts his affection for Lolita, the difficulties he faces with Charlotte...I don't want to reveal too much, but it's definitely worth your time.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Novel

It's not an easy book to read; nevertheless, it's a great novel. I wouldn't recommend it to just anyone. Only to those who can appreciate literature in more than one way.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Repulsively Seductive

Never had I read a novel that seduced me so much into the story that I forgot that it was about a pedophile. Portrayed as a testimony to the reader from Humbert Humbert, Nabokov gives us a disturbing yet entrancing tale into the pedophile's thoughts with a brilliant prose style and almost makes the reader sympathize with him and agree with him in many parts of the novel. Readers should pick up this novel and read one of the most brilliantly written love stories.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Lolita

'Lolita', for me, elevated Vladimir Nabokov's status to a 20th century icon!

This is by far one of the best books I have read all year!

The subject material may be a little difficult to enter into for some, but persevere because this narrative is well worth it. I am now on a quest to read everything written by Nabokov!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

both a cause and symptom of social decline

This is the most comprehensively vile novel since the days of de Sade -- and to be fair, de Sade was at least up front about his own proclivities. Defenders of Lolita tend to fall into two categories: moral apologists, and lovers of art for art's sake. Those in first category offer a host of rationalizations -- ''She seduced him!' 'But Humbert loved her!' 'Humbert himself was a victim.'' -- which seem eerily familiar because they are exactly those offered by pedophiles in mitigation of their crimes. These arguments are not literary judgments but, rather, signs of moral rot. Since Lolita is basically indefensible on a moral level, many disingenuous readers confine themselves to extravagant praise of its style. Even if style could compensate for pathology, Nabokov's does not. A little of his excessively ornate prose goes a long way, and after a hundred pages a sense of suffocation sets it. Despicable on every level.

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

What the hell?

Lolita is so surprisingly confusing, I have no idea what's going on. I don't understand half of the narrator is saying. I don't recall anything except about Humbert's lovers and Lolita's mother. Other than that, everything else was just .. difficult to understand.

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Breathtaking

It's easy to see how this book was censored in the prudish 50's. Still, it's a timeless piece of literature that I thoroughly enjoyed. Much better than the movie, as the reader gets to heart of Humbert's obesession with young girls, Lolita in particular. The modern version of Lolita does the original no justice.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Mirou

1/2way through the book and l must say that l've waited far too long to readvthis masterpiece. Will subsequently purchase most of his other novels. If you're looking for similar, try l'amant or the lover by marguerite duras.

This is the first novel by Nabokov that I read and this has made

This is the first novel by Nabokov that I read and this has made me an absolute fan of his books. Lolita is both an engaging story, but mostly it is so beautifully written. Despite it's graphic content and, at times, disturbing stream of consciousness from the protagonist Humbert, the prose is balanced and warm. I adore Nabokov's poetry that he added towards the end of the story when Humbert is searching for Lolita. Absolutely wonderful.