Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Lolita

Deeply disturbing and hauntingly beautiful. I don't remember ever being so uncomfortable reading a book, and yet, I was completely captivated by it.
It's a chilling and disgustingly real-feeling portrayal of pedophilic attraction and grooming tactics that feels very relevant and current despite its age. I was a bit wary as I had heard a lot of discourse on whether the book romanticizes the subject or not, but having now read it, I genuinely don't know how anyone could take the story as an indictment of HH's actions or even mildly sympathetic to him.
It's not an easy read by any means: even beyond the subject matter or the infuriatingly unreliable narrator, the language is very ornate and dense, often making the pace slow and the sequence of events confusing, (especially by the end, when HH's viewpoint starts to blur into paranoia). Still, at it's best, the prose is still so masterful and evocative that it makes it all worth it imo.
What more can I really say. Damn. It's one of those you don't easily forget.

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warmrats's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-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

Ridiculously hard to get through, but incredibly necessary to read it as a tale about Dolores's tragedy. It is not about Humbert, and it is definitely not meant to romanticize him. This book will continue to have a controversial legacy, but it will be very important to me. I see myself in Dolores in many ways, as someone raised as a girl.

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sombies's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense

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

nabokov was crazyyy for this one. its wild how laser targeted his read is of the kind of joyless motherfuckers who fantasize about having complete control over little girls to avoid taking control of their own lives. ive known a humbert humbert and it's likely you know one too

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frizzster's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

1.0

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aaliyahjn's review against another edition

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I really tried to get through this book because it was touted as good litEraTuRe. But I wanted to vomit the entire 15% that I read and I cannot go any further. Kudos to all of those who can finish this book

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