amyg88's review against another edition
2.0
I love a great genre mash up, but if you’re looking for a perfect mix of true crime and literary criticism, this book isn’t it. The writing is compelling, if not sensationalistic, as true crime tends to be, but the implication that Nabokov somehow exacerbated the crime against Sally Horner is hyperbolic at best, and certainly not sound literary criticism.
Are authors affected by the stories and culture around them? Of course. They are human beings living in the world. Is a true story of the kidnapping and abuse of an 11 year old grist for great fiction? It is when it is indicative of larger societal trends that see the bodies of women and children commodified and "owned" by those, often older men, who hold power over them.
The fact that for years many readers have been seduced into believing Humbert Humbert and his lies rather than noticing Dolores and her pain says much more about how we as a society view the power play between victims of sexual assault and their rapists than about Nabokov and his ability to read the news. The story of Sally Horner is sad. So is the story in Lolita. If the author of this book had spent more time exploring the social norms Nabokov is exposing instead of looking to "kill the messenger," she would have created a more compelling argument.
Are authors affected by the stories and culture around them? Of course. They are human beings living in the world. Is a true story of the kidnapping and abuse of an 11 year old grist for great fiction? It is when it is indicative of larger societal trends that see the bodies of women and children commodified and "owned" by those, often older men, who hold power over them.
The fact that for years many readers have been seduced into believing Humbert Humbert and his lies rather than noticing Dolores and her pain says much more about how we as a society view the power play between victims of sexual assault and their rapists than about Nabokov and his ability to read the news. The story of Sally Horner is sad. So is the story in Lolita. If the author of this book had spent more time exploring the social norms Nabokov is exposing instead of looking to "kill the messenger," she would have created a more compelling argument.
nerdyrev's review against another edition
4.0
I remember reading Lolita in High School and not liking it very much. I found it a tad dull at times and didn’t quite get the appeal. One of the issues was I wasn’t much of a reader at the time and the other issue was Lolita is about a pedophile who ruins a young girl’s life.
I did know a bit about Nabokov and his denial that Lolita wasn’t connected to anyone or anything in real life. This book states otherwise.
The book is focused on Sally Horner, a young 11 year old girl who is abducted by a 50 year old Frank LaSalle from 1948-1950 in Camden, NJ. LaSalle posed as an FBI agent who caught Horner stealing a $.05 notebook. He threatened to put her in jail and to tell her parents unless she boarded a bus with him to Atlantic City. He posed as one of Sally’s girlfriend’s dad to convince Sally’s mother to let her go. Mom dropped her off at the bus stop and Sally was taken for 2 years. Eventually Horner escapes and is tragically killed in a car accident a few years after her escape.
Weinman tells Sally and LaSalle’s story using interviews of living survivors and court records. She also tells Nabokov’s story and where he is during Horner’s abduction, asking did Nabokov know the story, especially since the two stories line up very closely and Nabokov references a Sally in the book?
I read and finished this book in less than a day because it is an interesting story and the book was written like a true crime novel (Weinman’s background). At times, if I am honest, I found Weinman’s narrative a bit self focused, especially the intro, but it was not distracting. It is also difficult to put Horner’s narrative into place since most of it was on the run and LaSalle disappears at moments using aliases.
While Lolita is told through the pedophile’s eyes where he convinces the reader that Lolita is seducing him and makes himself the victim; the Real Lolita paints a picture of a young girl who’s life is stolen from her and is raped repeatedly. I will say, the book did make me want to re-look at Lolita to see some of the connections Weinman proposes.
I would library this one as it is a very quick read.
amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Injury/injury detail, Rape, and Sexism
Moderate: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Gaslighting, and Murder
hollsbookshelf's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Kidnapping, and Child abuse
canderson's review against another edition
4.0
I've heard of Lolita, and I've always been meaning to read it; but like many avid readers, another book always gets in the way. I was attending BookCon in 2015 in NY when I stumbled upon this book. They were handing out free ARCs at the event and I was snagged a copy with the intention of reading Lolita first and then reading the theory behind the story.I was shocked to learn about this kidnapping. I'm a New Jersey resident, and live about 45 minutes from where Sally Horner was abducted. I had no idea about the horrors this young girl experienced at such a young age. Vladimir Nabokov, firmly denied that his book was based on Sally's story, however, after seeing Sarah Weinman's detailed breakdown of both Sally's story and Lolita's there were undeniable similarities between the two. Weinman blended both the research, her personal findings, the story of Lolita, and the case of Sally Horner's disappearance and subsequently short life, was mesmerizing.
I felt personally invested in the story; finding small hopes in certain points of Sally's story; and aching horribly for both her family and Sally herself as Weinman detailed her cross-country tour of hell. I'm not sure if it was because of the proximity of Sally's abduction, or the very real and very familiar places and locations of points of her story—but the story stuck with me long after I finished reading it.
I highly recommend for those who have already read Lolita, have heard of the story, or enjoy a non-fiction crime story.
I felt personally invested in the story; finding small hopes in certain points of Sally's story; and aching horribly for both her family and Sally herself as Weinman detailed her cross-country tour of hell. I'm not sure if it was because of the proximity of Sally's abduction, or the very real and very familiar places and locations of points of her story—but the story stuck with me long after I finished reading it.
I highly recommend for those who have already read Lolita, have heard of the story, or enjoy a non-fiction crime story.