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manybees's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Despite its reputation I found it more sad than disturbing. Dolly Haze is probably one of my favourite characters in all of literature. I’m gonna be thinking about this one for a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Miscarriage, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, and Classism
Minor: Biphobia, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
There is only one abuse scene that could be considered sexually explicit and it is written in such an abstracted and poetic way that it’s almost kinda hard to tell what’s going on. There is also period-typical racism and racial slurs.brieflyblue's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I imagine this is the type of novel you could read over and over again, discovering new details each time. However, I will not be doing that. At least not any time soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Child death
taelights's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I was honestly a bit worried going into this book because I have seen people in the past have bad takes on this book saying it's a love story or that it romanticizes pedophilia or that it's suppose to make you sympathize with a pedophile. But this is also a book that I've always been morbidly curious about and wanted to form my own opinion of so I decided to give it a try.
Now I honestly think anyone who believes this book romanticizes pedophilia is either 1) fucked up, 2) has not read the book and is making assumptions, or 3) doesn't have an ounce of critical thinking skills and no ability to analyze a book. You can tell that Nabokov doesn't agree with Humbert's character or actions.
Honestly this book was lowkey kind of a masterpiece. Vladimir Nabokov's writing style is beautiful and this is such a good genius example of an unreliable narrator story. The subject matter was of course disgusting and so many lines made me feel nauseated but it was such an interesting read. I kind of want to read it through again in the future to better analyze the book now that I have a picture of the whole story arch.
Now I honestly think anyone who believes this book romanticizes pedophilia is either 1) fucked up, 2) has not read the book and is making assumptions, or 3) doesn't have an ounce of critical thinking skills and no ability to analyze a book. You can tell that Nabokov doesn't agree with Humbert's character or actions.
Honestly this book was lowkey kind of a masterpiece. Vladimir Nabokov's writing style is beautiful and this is such a good genius example of an unreliable narrator story. The subject matter was of course disgusting and so many lines made me feel nauseated but it was such an interesting read. I kind of want to read it through again in the future to better analyze the book now that I have a picture of the whole story arch.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol
margaritium's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I liked the book, hated the narrator (as everyone should to a pedophile). The unreliable narraatorn has a very twisted mind , I was disgusted by him which shows how well the author has made the character to arouse such strong feelings fromt the readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Death of parent, and Alcohol
kristenhuck's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Stalking
Moderate: Child death, Incest, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition
The descriptions of pedophilia were revolting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child death
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I read "My Dark Vanessa" a few years ago and I really loved it, so I was curious to pick up this classic version of the story. "Lolita" follows a man named Humbert, who from a young age realized he was attracted to young girls. Humbert finds himself, a full-grown man, attracted to his stepdaughter, Dolores Haze, who he believes is the perfect nymphet. "Lolita" is told in Humbert's perspective as he writes a letter to explain himself and try to justify his actions.
I was not expecting to enjoy this story as much as I did. When a book tries to tackle such sensitive content matter, it is often hard to do so well. It is also difficult as a reader to separate the book from the main character. Humbert is highly unlikable, and as a reader, you are outraged that he is preying on young girls and trying to seduce them. Humbert is also willing to do almost anything to have his perfect nymphet, even murder. At every turn Humbert makes poor choices and your heart goes out to Dolores. She is so young and at such an impressionable age, you feel like Humbert is robbing her of her innocence. With all of that said, I could not put this book down. I was fascinated to be in the mind of such a depraved man. He knows he should not want this, but he cannot stop in his pursuit.
I do not necessarily recommend this book because of its content matter, but I am so happy I read this.
I was not expecting to enjoy this story as much as I did. When a book tries to tackle such sensitive content matter, it is often hard to do so well. It is also difficult as a reader to separate the book from the main character. Humbert is highly unlikable, and as a reader, you are outraged that he is preying on young girls and trying to seduce them. Humbert is also willing to do almost anything to have his perfect nymphet, even murder. At every turn Humbert makes poor choices and your heart goes out to Dolores. She is so young and at such an impressionable age, you feel like Humbert is robbing her of her innocence. With all of that said, I could not put this book down. I was fascinated to be in the mind of such a depraved man. He knows he should not want this, but he cannot stop in his pursuit.
I do not necessarily recommend this book because of its content matter, but I am so happy I read this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Sexual content, and Death of parent
elisanisly's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Drug abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death and Forced institutionalization
bill369's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I and my dear friend have read Lolita together.
I don't have a favourite character and I suppose it wasn't the author's intention for the reader to like the main characters. He did that well. I do dislike both Humbert Humbert and Dollores.
For me, this book was rather boring. Sure the plot was interesting in a way however not gripping enough. Reading this book even felt like a chore at a time. Except for the marvellous writing, there's nothing to highlight. And for the writing and the writing only, this book gets the rating it gets.
Page 300, made up predestined destiny.
The end of the book was one of the better parts. I did enjoy it.
Overall, I'm glad I read the book. The writing is amazing despite the story being unappealing to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Body shaming and Sexism
Minor: Child death, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
directorpurry's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
CW: There are so many in this bad boy... Pedophilia and victim blaming, mostly, but also SO MUCH statutory rape, Spoilerdeath of a parent, kidnapping, description of a corpse, stalking.
Updated 2020 rating: 3.5 stars
This is one of a short list of books where I can understand why some school districts and governments choose to ban it. While I find the writing to be absolutely amazing, at times almost breathtaking, the contents contained are questionable at best, atrocious at worst.
At times, Lolita is a book that can feel necessary to defend the reasons why you like it. I'll do my best to explain here:
Not to knock down the high-brow element of my review, but there's a Tumblr joke that has made the rounds about how the opposite of a "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" (usually a film trope character) is a "Depressed Goblin Nightmare Man" and how that is often a trope character of literature.
Not only that, it's often a popular trope character. (I'm looking at you, Erik, from The Phantom of the Opera.) Humbert Humbert is absolutely a "Depressed Goblin Nightmare Man" (DGNM from here on out).
He has combination of what it takes to make a DGNM, such as the cocky attitude. While HH spends most of the book degrading himself as "weak" or non-confrontational, he also spends the majority of the book strutting around like Lolita owes herself to him. Whenever she does something he doesn't like, he emotionally manipulates her into sleeping with him or forgiving him. HH also constantly blames his victims, these "Nymphets," who have done nothing more than behave like themselves, children who have no concept of the way he watches, stalks, and harasses many of them. Although he says he knows what he's doing wrong, HH ultimately places the blame on everyone but himself.
And Nabokov clearly knows what he's doing.
I've often noticed that many writers of "high" literature explore taboo topics far, far past the bounds of normalcy or even understanding. But it takes both an excellent writer and a committed reader to see past the surface topic to find the commentary underneath. Which isn't to say I blame anyone who hates or chooses not to even attempt this book because of the topic - I absolutely understand why people would want to chuck this book off a cliff.
But when I read it, I can see Nabokov's sarcastic attitude behind the words, the way he twists HH's own words against him as a narrator, making him at once unreliable and perfectly believable in his earnestness.
Lolita is clearly a girl suffering intense distress from her, at times, neglectful mother to her constant abuse and rape at the hands of HH. She shows many signs of abused children, from hiding food and money to her acting out in school and losing interest in hobbies.
There are many marks of Nabokov's deep involvement with these characters. I love the way he wrote this terrible book, and his characters are completely fascinating to me.
Additionally, I read this book for the first time just as I graduated high school, when I was personally quite enraptured by man DGNM in media. Outside of school work, this was one of the first "adult" "literature" books I elected to read on my own and I was completely swept away by the writing.
I'd like to think I've matured enough now as a reader to critique HH's status as a DGNM and as a writer to really absorb and understand the craft that went into this novel.
It's hard to say I "like" this book, but I would, perhaps, say I respect it. While perhaps no longer a 5-star because of my more nuanced understanding of the actual topic, rather than reading it when I was, in fact, still a teenager/child myself, the strong writing will always push it close to 4-stars for me.
Updated 2020 rating: 3.5 stars
This is one of a short list of books where I can understand why some school districts and governments choose to ban it. While I find the writing to be absolutely amazing, at times almost breathtaking, the contents contained are questionable at best, atrocious at worst.
At times, Lolita is a book that can feel necessary to defend the reasons why you like it. I'll do my best to explain here:
Not to knock down the high-brow element of my review, but there's a Tumblr joke that has made the rounds about how the opposite of a "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" (usually a film trope character) is a "Depressed Goblin Nightmare Man" and how that is often a trope character of literature.
Not only that, it's often a popular trope character. (I'm looking at you, Erik, from The Phantom of the Opera.) Humbert Humbert is absolutely a "Depressed Goblin Nightmare Man" (DGNM from here on out).
He has combination of what it takes to make a DGNM, such as the cocky attitude. While HH spends most of the book degrading himself as "weak" or non-confrontational, he also spends the majority of the book strutting around like Lolita owes herself to him. Whenever she does something he doesn't like, he emotionally manipulates her into sleeping with him or forgiving him. HH also constantly blames his victims, these "Nymphets," who have done nothing more than behave like themselves, children who have no concept of the way he watches, stalks, and harasses many of them. Although he says he knows what he's doing wrong, HH ultimately places the blame on everyone but himself.
And Nabokov clearly knows what he's doing.
I've often noticed that many writers of "high" literature explore taboo topics far, far past the bounds of normalcy or even understanding. But it takes both an excellent writer and a committed reader to see past the surface topic to find the commentary underneath. Which isn't to say I blame anyone who hates or chooses not to even attempt this book because of the topic - I absolutely understand why people would want to chuck this book off a cliff.
But when I read it, I can see Nabokov's sarcastic attitude behind the words, the way he twists HH's own words against him as a narrator, making him at once unreliable and perfectly believable in his earnestness.
Lolita is clearly a girl suffering intense distress from her, at times, neglectful mother to her constant abuse and rape at the hands of HH. She shows many signs of abused children, from hiding food and money to her acting out in school and losing interest in hobbies.
There are many marks of Nabokov's deep involvement with these characters. I love the way he wrote this terrible book, and his characters are completely fascinating to me.
Additionally, I read this book for the first time just as I graduated high school, when I was personally quite enraptured by man DGNM in media. Outside of school work, this was one of the first "adult" "literature" books I elected to read on my own and I was completely swept away by the writing.
I'd like to think I've matured enough now as a reader to critique HH's status as a DGNM and as a writer to really absorb and understand the craft that went into this novel.
It's hard to say I "like" this book, but I would, perhaps, say I respect it. While perhaps no longer a 5-star because of my more nuanced understanding of the actual topic, rather than reading it when I was, in fact, still a teenager/child myself, the strong writing will always push it close to 4-stars for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Child death and Physical abuse