jackietanori's review against another edition
4.0
It's raw in a way only women can be.
Crying score: none
Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Terminal illness
femmevil's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Gaslighting, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts
katilein's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, and Rape
madelinequinne's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Rape, Pedophilia, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Bullying, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Body shaming, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Self harm
helenamichelle's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
bernieem's review against another edition
4.0
"Beauty plus pity, is the closest we will get to art"
I found her perspective and thoughts as a teenager really interesting - we get to see why this happened, how she was groomed. She wanted to be understood and heard, especially considering her history with depression and mental illness, and how people perceived her. At the time it felt like the teacher was the only one who saw her, and maybe that's what enticed her and fought to get his attention so much in high school. It was disturbing to see how the teacher manipulated her with his words, actions, and how he made her think that the abusive relationship in Lolita was a love story that reflected theirs as well.
It was inspiring to learn that she ended up teaching young girls later to teach them what a healthy relationship is. Her re-reading Lolita and slowly realising over time that the relationship she had with the teacher was abusive was really fascinating. I got a lot of insight from this.
Graphic: Self harm, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
bookswithgeorgia's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Vomit, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Self harm, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, and Emotional abuse
janinagnes's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Self harm
savvylit's review against another edition
3.5
Being Lolita is a compelling and consuming memoir. The book shines in revealing what it's like to survive a predatory and emotionally abusive relationship. I feel as though I have definitely walked away with a better understanding of how our culture has dangerously blurred young women's understanding of consent and power dynamics.
I ultimately rated Being Lolita as 3.5 stars because a large part of the memoir is a critical analysis of Nabokov's Lolita. It is an incredibly well-thought-out analysis and clearly helped Wood on her journey to better understand her own experience. However, the flow between Wood's recounting of her past and the analysis didn't hold my attention as well as I'd hoped. At some point, it felt like the threads of Wood's own experience were dropped in favor of an academic approach. While there's not necessarily anything wrong with that, it seemed disjointed to me as a reader.
Graphic: Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
marcia__amelie's review against another edition
4.25
Spoiler
a raw, agonising & vulnerable exploration of abuse, consent & exploitation. this book was an emotional journey, knowing that this was a real story. that this was somebody’s life. the writing was haunting & lyrical most of the time but there were some aspects that i found a bit too vague. it was deeply uncomfortable reading how the teacher misinterprets the twisted classic “lolita,” to justify his abuse. the last third of the book genuinely made me cry. her adult voice taking over as she realised what she experienced & had to endure was not love was devastating. the scene where she was looking at the old photographs and it dawned on her that she was just a child??? crying. the way wood breaks from nabokov’s narrative structure to rewrite her own story was uplifting & memorable. the strength and courage it must have took to lay your heart bare and tell this story is remarkable. it’s a memoir i believe people should read but please look at the trigger warnings!! this is not an easy read!!
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide