Lolita

by Vladimir Nabokov

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About this book

Humbert Humbert - scholar, aesthete and romantic - has fallen completely and utterly in love with Dolores Haze, his landlady's gum-snapping, silky skinned twelve-year-old daughter. Reluctantly agreeing to marry Mrs Haze just to be close to Lolita, Humbert suffers greatly in the pursuit of romance; but when Lo herself starts looking for attention elsewhere, he will carry her off on a desperate cross-country misadventure, all in the name of Love. Hilarious, flamboyant, heart-breaking and full of ingenious word play, Lolita is an immaculate, unforgettable masterpiece of obsession, delusion and lust.

“I want my learned readers to participate in the scene I am about to replay; I want them to examine its every detail and see for themselves how careful, how chaste, the whole wine-sweet event is if viewed with what my lawyer has called, in a private talk we have had, 'impartial sympathy.'” , Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov

Count your Coffees!

Oh my, where to start with this one... I feel Lolita is one of those books a lot of people have an opinion on, yet far less have actually read the book. It is, and will always be, 'the book about the pedophile'.

Yet, it is so much more... in fact, I will call this book a true literary masterpiece and stand ready to defend it.

Let's deal with the elephant in the room first: yes, the main character, the perpetrator, the pervert, whatever you want to call them is sexual predator and a criminal. Whether there was consent or not isn't even an argument: from a legal point-of-view, the man is guilty as charged.

How can you feel any sympathy for such a despicable man?!

Well, that is the very question Nabokov asks us. The entire book is narrated by Humbert, the main character, as part of his confession or plea in front of a court of law. The reader becomes the judge and is left to their own device to decide whether Humbert is indeed a victim of circumstance, as he describes it himself, or a vile criminal. Enter a charming, intelligent, erudite and soft-spoken man, a man of the world. Handsome, most certainly. Certainly not the monster you might have expected. A man who tells no lies...in fact, he tells his own truth and very much believes his version of the tale is indeed the only true one.

Nabokov knew this book would cause a riot. He knew his readers would be shocked at the scandalous read they were holding in their hands, but he also knew that some of them would feel that annoying tug in the back of their brains that whispered, against all logic: 'Is he truly the monster or merely the victim?'

In this moment of doubt, in these annoying little thoughts, lies the brilliance of this book.

The other star of the book is the language itself: swift, playful, intelligent...with rhythm and wordplay. In fact, the language is very accessible, which isn't always the case with classics. Considering English was only a third or even fourth language for Nabokov, it boggles the mind.

Does it come with trigger warnings? Of course it does, yet I would very much plead to give this book a chance before you form an opinion about it. Worst case scenario: you're still outraged, but at least, you've read this modern classic.

Buy this book: https://amzn.to/3gScbk1

Disclaimer: This site earns a small commission fee if you buy using any of the commercial links. This will not cost you anything extra, but helps me invest in the content I offer you free of charge. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your patronage, it makes all the difference!