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Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Abandonment
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Rape, Grief
Minor: Incest, Sexual assault
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder
Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault
Moderate: Death, Death of parent
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Murder, Gaslighting
Moderate: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Alcohol
Minor: Car accident, War
This is a misunderstood book; because it depicts the actions of a pedophile, though never explicitly, it has enjoyed much contentious discourse over the years. I think Nabokov perfectly embodies the thought processes of monstrous people like Humbert, people who, despite their unbelievable transgressions, are still people, and have to deal with that aspect of their being. Humbert thinks highly of himself and lowly of most of the people he comes across. He is an old-world European in tacky-ass 1940s America and throughout the book, it's clear he feels as though this place is below him. But that doesn't make it easy for him to excuse his own pedophilic behavior. Instead, he mythologizes it, as if pedophilia is actually a dignified, understandable, and rare phenomenon that occurs only when sensuous "nymphets" encourage it to. He rarely blames himself entirely for his actions, usually only once they have already taken their toll on the people around him. Meanwhile, Dolores' identity and her development of it are stymied and compacted into the reductive image Humbert has of her, until she eventually escapes. Unfortunately, as you might expect, it is a pyrrhic victory.
I have never read a book like this and I was blown away by every page. The horrible shit in this book is presented in some of the most expertly crafted and translated prose to be pressed, and I am impressed.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Blood, Trafficking, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism, Xenophobia
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gore, Incest, Violence, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy
A shiver went down my spine as I read that first sentence of the book- and I knew I was in for a bumpy ride.
I see many people misinterpreting this book.
Examples may include:
" This is a romantic love story!"
" The author is romanticizing pedophillia."
And much more
No, Nabokov, in my opinion, is not romanticising child grooming. He is exposing the darkness, the shame, the inherent immorality of the act. Humber Humbert is a very unreliable narrator. We cannot trust anything Humbert Humbert says. While he seems to potray Dolores as being happy, there are a few moments in the book when Humbert Humbert lets Dolores's true feelings slip.
He criticises people for being "pedophiles", when it is HE who is the pedophile. He projects his issues and immorality onto other people.
As Oscar Wilde once said, " The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world it's own shame."
Lolita is disgusting. It is a warning to society. Lolita does not exist. She is Dolores Haze, a young girl who was groomed, raped, and manipulated. This book reminds us of the immoralities that may be going on under our very noses.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment