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A review by goblinhearted
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
5.0
This is my third or fourth read of this novel. When I was a teenager, I gravitated toward two things in literature: beautiful prose and extremely messed up plots and characters. As a result, this book has become a little bit of a comfort read - one in which I discover something new every time I read it.
I noticed that people always talk about how poetic the prose is (it’s gorgeous) but I rarely see anyone talk about how the writing shines in other ways, like its humor and cleverness.
There’s a stark dissonance between the clever and funny Humbert and the darkness and derangement of his obsession not only with titular Lolita but all other ‘nymphets’. He bases his entire existence on being a pedophile. He describes Lo’s heartbreaking behavior - her reactions to the trauma he puts her though - between lighthearted jokes and sharp wit creating a harrowing contrast between dark and light.
In fact, I highlighted a lot of quotes that demonstrate this cleverness in hopes of including it here in this review, and I realize now that so much of it is heavily context-dependent, to the point where it feels like he is sharing context-heavy “inside jokes” with the reader, which makes it hard to share, but also makes the humor in them feel so much more complex?
It’s also worth mentioning that it felt like at least one third of this book completely went over my head, even after reading it as many times as I did. This is because Nabokov relies so much on references - and also a ton of French.
I will be sure to read the annotated edition in the future, to pick up on everything. This is confirmed to still be one of my favorites.
I noticed that people always talk about how poetic the prose is (it’s gorgeous) but I rarely see anyone talk about how the writing shines in other ways, like its humor and cleverness.
There’s a stark dissonance between the clever and funny Humbert and the darkness and derangement of his obsession not only with titular Lolita but all other ‘nymphets’. He bases his entire existence on being a pedophile. He describes Lo’s heartbreaking behavior - her reactions to the trauma he puts her though - between lighthearted jokes and sharp wit creating a harrowing contrast between dark and light.
In fact, I highlighted a lot of quotes that demonstrate this cleverness in hopes of including it here in this review, and I realize now that so much of it is heavily context-dependent, to the point where it feels like he is sharing context-heavy “inside jokes” with the reader, which makes it hard to share, but also makes the humor in them feel so much more complex?
It’s also worth mentioning that it felt like at least one third of this book completely went over my head, even after reading it as many times as I did. This is because Nabokov relies so much on references - and also a ton of French.
I will be sure to read the annotated edition in the future, to pick up on everything. This is confirmed to still be one of my favorites.