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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-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
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content
dark
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
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
I just didn't vibe with it. I don't judge anyone who loves this book, but it was such a struggle for me to get through. Maybe I need to re-read.
Light of my life, fire of my loins
What started off seeming like it would be a tasteful erotica, Lolita quickly turned into a memoir of a psychotic but ultimately lonely man who has lost touch with reality. Although in no way a romance, the book has a romantic element to it in the sense that Humbert wrote it in order to immortalise his obsession, Lolita. The very fact that he referred to her as Lolita, and not by her actual name Dolores, suggests that he was entranced by a phantom version of the girl, a seductress his delusional self had conjured in his head. His actions are despicable but he, despite knowing that he is incorrigible, stumbles through life without purpose and any attempt to redeem himself, and that makes one pity him. He was seemingly an empty shell with a poor imitation of human emotions. "Automaton", as he himself said.
And yet, certain parts- when consciousness would occasionally pierce through his blanket of delusion- were brimming with such emotion that I found myself overwhelmed and unable to read further. Such as when he is listening to the sounds of little children playing in the distance and realising how Dolores was deprived of her childhood. Or when he catches her cast a yearning glance at a child sitting on his father's lap.
Avis who had such a wonderful fat pink dad and a small chubby brother, and a brand-new baby sister, and a home, and two grinning dogs, and Lolita had nothing.
The narrator had an eye for details and impeccable memory, recalling instances from older chapters that the reader might have overlooked. Everything in the end seemed to come together in a full circle, as if all that had happened in his life had happened for the sole purpose of settling down gracefully like pieces of a puzzle.
Nabokov claimed that the purpose of art was not to be didactic in nature, but to provide "aesthetic bliss". And aesthetic bliss it did provide. On a single page, I found myself highlighting several phrases of words strung together in an unexpectedly delightful manner. The narrator seemed to be seducing the reader with beautiful prose. However, at several points, I felt as if I weren't well-read enough to be reading this book as there were literary allusions, word play and "easter eggs", if you may, that I could not catch immediately.
Nevertheless, the writing is unarguably haunting and tragic and divine. In the end, I left with a few pressing questions. Does this paedophile deserve my empathy? Can loss change a man for the better? How thin is the line between love and obsession?
What started off seeming like it would be a tasteful erotica, Lolita quickly turned into a memoir of a psychotic but ultimately lonely man who has lost touch with reality. Although in no way a romance, the book has a romantic element to it in the sense that Humbert wrote it in order to immortalise his obsession, Lolita. The very fact that he referred to her as Lolita, and not by her actual name Dolores, suggests that he was entranced by a phantom version of the girl, a seductress his delusional self had conjured in his head. His actions are despicable but he, despite knowing that he is incorrigible, stumbles through life without purpose and any attempt to redeem himself, and that makes one pity him. He was seemingly an empty shell with a poor imitation of human emotions. "Automaton", as he himself said.
And yet, certain parts- when consciousness would occasionally pierce through his blanket of delusion- were brimming with such emotion that I found myself overwhelmed and unable to read further. Such as when he is listening to the sounds of little children playing in the distance and realising how Dolores was deprived of her childhood. Or when he catches her cast a yearning glance at a child sitting on his father's lap.
Avis who had such a wonderful fat pink dad and a small chubby brother, and a brand-new baby sister, and a home, and two grinning dogs, and Lolita had nothing.
The narrator had an eye for details and impeccable memory, recalling instances from older chapters that the reader might have overlooked. Everything in the end seemed to come together in a full circle, as if all that had happened in his life had happened for the sole purpose of settling down gracefully like pieces of a puzzle.
Nabokov claimed that the purpose of art was not to be didactic in nature, but to provide "aesthetic bliss". And aesthetic bliss it did provide. On a single page, I found myself highlighting several phrases of words strung together in an unexpectedly delightful manner. The narrator seemed to be seducing the reader with beautiful prose. However, at several points, I felt as if I weren't well-read enough to be reading this book as there were literary allusions, word play and "easter eggs", if you may, that I could not catch immediately.
Nevertheless, the writing is unarguably haunting and tragic and divine. In the end, I left with a few pressing questions. Does this paedophile deserve my empathy? Can loss change a man for the better? How thin is the line between love and obsession?
challenging
dark
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
a TRUE masterpiece, it's hard to talk about this book and i know it's a very controversial one but trust me, this is NOT an ode to ped0philia or whatever people are saying about it : it's completely the contrary and everyone should read it.
of course, if you go to read it with the hollywood vision of it, and how people modified the real point of it, your opinion is maybe going to be biased
but trust me, the handwriting is amazing, smart, light, wise : perfect. some parts are harder to read for sure, but this classic is (in my pov) a must have to read.
i assure you that this is one of those books that change your vision of life after reading it.
of course, if you go to read it with the hollywood vision of it, and how people modified the real point of it, your opinion is maybe going to be biased
but trust me, the handwriting is amazing, smart, light, wise : perfect. some parts are harder to read for sure, but this classic is (in my pov) a must have to read.
i assure you that this is one of those books that change your vision of life after reading it.
challenging
slow-paced