charburlingame's review against another edition
3.0
I think I'd go 3.5 stars if I could. Even though the first two paragraphs tell you exactly what happens in the story, I found myself losing motivation to read at about the 200 page mark because I knew what to expect. Like Nobokov himself says, the details are important, and the last fifty pages or so offered enough surprise to make the story worth reading. There's some fun commentary about art and language, but mostly this was a tale of bad things happening to bad people.
vittidimartino's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-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
elspethevans23's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.0
audreyhasalotofcats's review against another edition
5.0
A beautifully written story about a bunch of awful people
callixte's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
luna545's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
booccmaster's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-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
3.75
wildbear's review against another edition
2.0
A feeble, feeble precursor to Lolita, painfully trite and straightforward in its plotting and dynamics (which is ironic to say, given its similarity to and my love of the later novel, but there is nothing clever in the mapping of Lolita either - only its voice [and meta-textual tension]), elevated only occasionally by its small details and, more importantly, wonderful sense of humor (both this and Lolita are practically a work of farce, in hindsight). Otherwise even the prose isn’t up to par either, as all the evocative often simply fall flat.* Also seems a big miss to purvey the reader with the light bereft of its tragicomic Hero, and the last scene’s wonderfully taut tension perfectly illustrates that.
*To quote a character from the book itself:
‘A writer for instance,’ he remarked, ‘talks about India which I have never seen, and gushes about dancing girls, tiger hunts, fakirs, betel nuts, serpents: the Glamour of the mysterious East. But what does it amount to? Nothing. Instead of visualizing India I merely get a bad toothache from all these Eastern delights. Now, there’s the other way as, for instance, the fellow who writes: “Before turning in I put out my wet boots to dry and in the morning I found that a thick blue forest had grown on them” (‘Fungi, Madam,’ he explained to Dorianna who had raised one eyebrow) ‘and at once India becomes alive for me. The rest is shop.’
*To quote a character from the book itself:
‘A writer for instance,’ he remarked, ‘talks about India which I have never seen, and gushes about dancing girls, tiger hunts, fakirs, betel nuts, serpents: the Glamour of the mysterious East. But what does it amount to? Nothing. Instead of visualizing India I merely get a bad toothache from all these Eastern delights. Now, there’s the other way as, for instance, the fellow who writes: “Before turning in I put out my wet boots to dry and in the morning I found that a thick blue forest had grown on them” (‘Fungi, Madam,’ he explained to Dorianna who had raised one eyebrow) ‘and at once India becomes alive for me. The rest is shop.’
moonie_mal's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75