Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

21 reviews

taelights's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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

4.0

I was honestly a bit worried going into this book because I have seen people in the past have bad takes on this book saying it's a love story or that it romanticizes pedophilia or that it's suppose to make you sympathize with a pedophile. But this is also a book that I've always been morbidly curious about and wanted to form my own opinion of so I decided to give it a try. 

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

josierosser's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

bellamp's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

josirlyn's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

saurahsaurus's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Murder and Pregnancy

e_hng's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcohol

martereadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

davidrb's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

Not giving this one a rating.

One of my favorite books when it comes to technical skill and the clear love and talent Nabokov has for his craft, a marvel of characterization that is almost too strong, and at the same time the worst book to actually read. This is my first time returning to it since I was about Dolly's age, and it's as profoundly upsetting as it gets. Nobody wins.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

natashajade's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective slow-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

5.0

The ramblings of an unfortunately proud, woe-is-me paedophile. I love how, despite being narrated by the obsessive and delusional Humbert, if you pay close attention the emotions of Dolores Haze (Lolita) break through occasionally. Still, those emotions are clouded through the romanticised lenses of Dr Humbert Humbert. 

People give this book a low rating out of disgust for how he describes a child, but the fact you're so disgusted means the author did their job perfectly. Anyone who reads this book and thinks that Nabokov's intention was to villainise the 'teasing' child and make HH the victim, clearly missed the point.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

sennaje's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting