Reviews with content warning for Death - Lolita

Christ this was so long for absolutely no reason whatsoever. I'm rating it a 2 solely based on the fact that there were parts of the book that I felt like Dolores was getting the better of the main character. Otherwise, the prose is exceptionally dry and quite frankly, extremely out of sorts for 85% of the book. It's labeled as a classic due to its dryness, and taught in classrooms due to the fact that that there are many places a professor could find their pupils slipping up and not reading the material.

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calimie's review against another edition

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dark funny 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

5.0

Lolita is a victim from before she's on the page. Her mother hates her and happily finds every excuse to send her away

and Quilty has already sat her on his knees while a crowd laughed and no one saved her

.
She was a rude kid but brilliant at acting and sport. And HH destroyed her childhood.

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wrensandroses's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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mme_carton's review against another edition

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dark funny 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

4.0

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archiveofrasa's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.75

I physically cannot give this book 5 stars because the only things I enjoyed were the writing and the characterisation and I despise everything else, but I loved those two aspects so much it creates this incredibly uneven balance. I really want to preface though: if you think this book romanticises abuse, please see critiques on Colleen Hoover's work, I'm begging you. Please develop reading comprehension before picking this up.

I read this for reference because it was mentioned in My Dark Vanessa; Excavation and I explore grooming in one of my own works so this was practically a must-read. Such a fucking harrowing story. It took me forever to get through I needed help from an unabridged audiobook to read alongside it, but I have never highlighted a book this much in my reading journey this year. If I had a physical copy my highlights would make the pages bleed together. A 'love letter' to the English language, I've never heard anything more accurate. There were a lot of dated references that I wish I understood to further soak in the meanings behind some of the prose, but regardless, it didn't disturb the experience for me.

Nabakov portrayed such an intensely punchable and run-overable man. I've heard rumours that the author was abused similarly by an uncle but I sincerely hope he wasn't. Humbert is so disgustingly well-crafted: a manipulative piece of shit who pathetically tries so hard to convince you (and ultimately himself) that he's just being seduced and he's just some helpless sod of a person who can't help but give in. He only cares about himself which is evident in the lack of understanding or acknowledgement of everyone around him. He does not care about Dolores at all (and this is very clear, e.g. when he realises he does not understand a thing about her mind or her personality outside of her body and her outbursts). Dolores (I will not call her Lolita) so distant as a character you ultimately realise who she is to him.

Yes, [Dolores] said, this world was just one gag after another, if somebody wrote up her life nobody would ever believe it.—Part Two, Chapter 29.

I hate any regard to this as 'erotic' as there is nothing erotic about this – there aren't even any explicit scenes. Everything in this book is clear, realistic and terrifying. I would never properly recommend this to anyone who has experienced child SA, isn't prepared for this and/or who can't read about unlikable characters. You're not going to get a "pedophilia is bad" message from this book because this is the type of book you read because you already know pedophilia is bad.

I don't know why or how people misinterpreted this and I do believe it is alarming, but I guess that's what happens when you reveal the humanity of a disgusting person. I don't say this to suggest anything other than these types of men exist so easily our world. Hiding them away into a private corner from society and refusing to acknowledge them due to the "tabooness" of it is doing much more harm than good.

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lesbegays's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

i have no idea how to rate this. it’s disturbing and disgusting and also so very human. i hated reading it but was also enthralled.
i always have been and always will be drawn to stories about atrocities committed in the name of love, about evil done to loved ones not in spite of that love but because of it, about love that is twisted and selfish and incomplete but still very much love, about people who only know how to give love in ways that won’t feel like love to those who receive it. i think this is essential reading for anyone drawn to those themes in stories who can stomach this particular type of evil.

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paulabookworm's review against another edition

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a_epistemological_crisis's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense 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

4.5

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