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xahom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Racism, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
majakrmer's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Violence, and Gaslighting
Minor: Miscarriage, Blood, and Pregnancy
manybees's review against another edition
- 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
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.gabriella_'s review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
taelights's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
another_dahlia's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Alcohol
Minor: Car accident
stutee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
dearbhlanoonan's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Car accident
lacey_wi's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
bubblyfemme's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is one of those books I would never had imagined myself giving a high rating, due to the nature of the content. However, the writing is so poetic and the author is able to masterfully manipulate words to perfectly convey meaning.
I read this novel under the impression that Nabokov sought to portray to the reader a psychopathic rapists mind. I view this as a character study of a very twisted man who is trying to manipulate the reader, and perhaps himself into believing that he wasn’t ‘that bad’.
I think having some rudimentary knowledge of the psychological field of the 1950’s is helpful when reading this book, so I’d recommend reading up a little on Freud, and perhaps Bowlby (who studied in the 60’s after the book was published) as some of his theories could be applied to the characters within the book. I think, despite our narrators hatred for psychoanalysis, analysing H.H makes the book far more interesting, and also highlights many of the books linguistic themes.
Despite the frankly disgusting nature of the book, I was in awe of the writing and I have always been drawn to books with an unreliable narrator. This book is an enigma to me, I hated the content but on the other hand have never spent so long trying to ‘understand’ or analyse a book I was not studying for school. The sheer impact this book has had on me currently warrants the 5 star rating, this may change in future if I re-read it though.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Misogyny, and Racial slurs