Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Лолита

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Лолита by Vladimir Nabokov

181 reviews

kornbread_x's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 8%

too vulgar, too much pedophilia

Content Warnings

notlucinda's review against another edition

3.75

dark reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

haikatos's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 50%

Making me sick to my stomach, idk how some people were able to read this and interpret it as a "romance" story. Didn't get to 1/4 of the second part because of how sick it made me feel. It's a good book, don't get me wrong, but I js can't handle it.

For what I've read, it could have been 3 stars for me, maybe 4.

Content Warnings

leesoko's review against another edition

4.25

challenging tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

aphros's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Those who hate Lolita are too embarrassed to admit they didn’t understand Lolita

Content Warnings

niles_reads's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The whole review

I’ve never been more disturbed by a piece of media in my life.

I’ve read “Dracula” by Bram Stoker, the book many view “the scariest book ever written”, I’ve read books heavy on body horror like “Bunny” by Mona Awad or “Boy Parts” by Eliza Clark and felt nothing while doing so.

My stomach flipped from page one. Genuinely the worst thing that was ever written.

The writing is hard to get into at first, but once you actually begin understanding the way the main character speaks, or well, writes, the text becomes easier to consume.

The main character is so self-centered, thinks so highly of himself and the way he justifies his horrendous actions to himself made me want to punch something so badly. And not in the Irina from “Boy parts” type a way where you’re kinda enjoying her selfishness. Maybe because his actions are WAY worse than hers.

You don’t quite realize it while reading it, but his every-now-and-then mentions of his “good-looks” is kinda a critique of how beauty and conventional attractiveness can come a long way, disguised as another way of him being full of himself. I remember scoffing and rolling my eyes every time he’d repeat himself, but after finishing it I could see what Nabokov was trying to do.

The truth about this novel is terrifying; that anyone can be a horrendous monster.

From what I remember, he grew up in a normal environment and was a highly respected individual. He wasn’t some abused child or mistreated teenager. He was, what the people around him saw as, a normal person.

I’ve never really understood what “Seeing someone through the main character’s version of them” meant, until chapter 32 where we finally get a glimpse of her humanity; of her wanting a normal life, of being a child wanting someone to call “family”. Or how even when she was living in poverty and while having a child on the way at 17, she refused to live back with a man who took away her childhood and both physically and mentally broke her.

I’m really debating on what to give it. While being a book about such a disturbing topic, it is extremely well written and it clearly shows a message.

I can’t force myself to give it anything but a 4.75.

Content Warnings