Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

119 reviews

lizziemason's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A book that had me enthralled throughout the first part; a masterpiece of suspended morality and prose. However the plot seemed to tumble away from me after the first half: the narrative is curious however I am not sure I found it a convincing ending to a book that set its self up, in many regards, to be about unsequested and unrequited longing. Overall it has been a remarkable introduction to Nabokov, whom, throughout the reading of Lolita, I have grown to respect as a poet and artist.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Trafficking, Murder, Pedophilia, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Incest, and Rape

morenowagain's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Incest, Murder, Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Kidnapping

bycath's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Child abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Classism, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, and Violence

chaya_v's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

Horrifying content but form is brilliant. When looking at the writing only this is a masterpiece. But the content makes it impossible for me to rate this higher. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Death of parent, Incest, Car accident, Murder, Kidnapping, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Rape, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

haleymonkey5000's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual violence, and Gun violence

Moderate: Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Death, Homophobia, Racism, Stalking, and Alcohol

nisha_111's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, Incest, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Death, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Murder, Pedophilia, and Stalking

turtlebones's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I almost DNF this book but stuck it out and boy… once i did…. you can’t help but feel sorry for the professor but then you realize what he’s doing and who he is and you feel for Lolita. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Rape, and Stalking

jcstokes95's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

 

Look, it’s not even that I have an issue with the grotesque content. I have no problem with books about morally fucked characters and there is a place for literature even I think it’s subject matter it bonkers. I just do not like this writing style at all. I recognize I am probably in the minority here. But I found this very difficult to get through. 

I don’t have a nice organized through process on this, so let’s do bullet points: 

-> I appreciated the purposeful mix of salacious moments while Nabokov veils the actual act of rape throughout the text. It gives us the sense Humbert knows his crimes are heinous and immoral; he knows his invisible jury would damn him immediately if described. 

-> I found the most interesting portion to be the few end chapters, where Dolores is grown and we get some glimpse into how this ends for her. Part of my reason for reading this text is I would like to read My Dark Vanessa, which is a response to Lolita. I think I will find that more interesting as it promises to get into the head of the manipulated. 

-> While I know “too much French” isn’t a real criticism of a book, I would love if the publisher of my copy had put some damn translations in. Nabokov seems obsessed with puns (like his narrator) and language. Seems a shame to not get the whole of that context. If you can find an edition with notes, that might increase your reading experience of this. 

-> The fact that there are people who actually still read this as a love story or story of mutual seduction is wild. Jail! Prison! Send them to jail! Gross! 

-> I really do find this writing style grating. This is personal preference. I thought it was the narrator’s choices intentionally making it so. But my copy has a letter Nabokov wrote after publication at the end, and I can confirm that was written in a strange style too. Fascinating content though, at the end he seems majorly annoyed that he has to stop writing in Russian, where he thinks he was superior and instead use English for his novels. In general, this makes me more interested in how bilingual novelists feel about writing in various tongues. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Rape, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Incest

Moderate: Death of parent and Murder

catjoelle's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Rape, and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual violence and Sexual assault

jesstroughton's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

I really hated this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Rape, Child abuse, Incest, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence