hollireads's review against another edition
A book based on an article. I picked this up because I vaguely knew about the plot of Lolita (shock o have no desire to read) and the story of Sally Horner but didn’t really know the details. It was interesting to me to hear the basic details of the case and also the apparent correlation to the book Lolita. Because there is so much that isn’t documented and so many witnesses that are dead, the author had to make a lot of inferences and assumptions. In that way it was not the best book. I listen to it on audiobook and it kept my interest when I was at 2x speed.
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.
hollyrebeccasmith's review against another edition
5.0
Well-researched and argued, horrifying, and masterfully executed.
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
The true story of Sally Horner and how her ordeal inspired the author of Lolita is awful and tragic. She suffered so much in her short life, and it is a very sad story.
However, this book was a bit dry, and I think focused too much on the author of Lolita and not enough on Sally. I think this may have been due to a lack of records for Sally since she didn't live a public life.
The narrator wasn't great, and it was hard to concentrate on the book. She wasn't the worst non-fiction narrator, but she also certainly wasn't the best. Her lack of emotion didn't really match the subject matter.
Overall, a decent book. But I'd recommend reading a physical or digital copy over the audio.
However, this book was a bit dry, and I think focused too much on the author of Lolita and not enough on Sally. I think this may have been due to a lack of records for Sally since she didn't live a public life.
The narrator wasn't great, and it was hard to concentrate on the book. She wasn't the worst non-fiction narrator, but she also certainly wasn't the best. Her lack of emotion didn't really match the subject matter.
Overall, a decent book. But I'd recommend reading a physical or digital copy over the audio.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Violence, Grief, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Rape
erin_oriordan_is_reading_again's review against another edition
4.0
Although I've never read 'Lolita,' I thought this was fascinating, both from the perspective of the historical case of Sally Horner and from the literary perspective. I checked this audiobook out from my library using the Libby app, and if you're a fan of 20th century American history, true crime, and/or American literature, you'll find this a worthwhile listen too.