Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

132 reviews

sowmmm's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual content

lynn_x5452's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-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

4.0

It's well written but often hard to read just in terms of content. There's also a lot of French lines that are just not translated at all and either require a working knowledge of French or the desire to translate them or look them up. I did none of that though, so you can make it through the book by just skipping over those portions.  Commentary on the plot itself:

The narrator is unreliable and it is a lose lose situation for all involved in the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Rape

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Stalking

Minor: Murder, Gun violence, Incest, and Kidnapping

ppp's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Rape, Gaslighting, Incest, and Adult/minor relationship

josierosser's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Physical abuse, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Misogyny

Minor: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Alcohol, Medical content, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

bellamp's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Trafficking, Incest, Rape, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, and Misogyny

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I read "My Dark Vanessa" a few years ago and I really loved it, so I was curious to pick up this classic version of the story. "Lolita" follows a man named Humbert, who from a young age realized he was attracted to young girls. Humbert finds himself, a full-grown man, attracted to his stepdaughter, Dolores Haze, who he believes is the perfect nymphet. "Lolita" is told in Humbert's perspective as he writes a letter to explain himself and try to justify his actions.
I was not expecting to enjoy this story as much as I did. When a book tries to tackle such sensitive content matter, it is often hard to do so well. It is also difficult as a reader to separate the book from the main character. Humbert is highly unlikable, and as a reader, you are outraged that he is preying on young girls and trying to seduce them. Humbert is also willing to do almost anything to have his perfect nymphet, even murder. At every turn Humbert makes poor choices and your heart goes out to Dolores. She is so young and at such an impressionable age, you feel like Humbert is robbing her of her innocence. With all of that said, I could not put this book down. I was fascinated to be in the mind of such a depraved man. He knows he should not want this, but he cannot stop in his pursuit.
I do not necessarily recommend this book because of its content matter, but I am so happy I read this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Sexual content

rayne_1906's review against another edition

dark slow-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

4.25

5 hours 9 minutes - I normally find classic books incredibly hard to read, but oddly I didn't have much trouble in that regard with this book. It is artfully written in such a way that you are disgusted with the actions and thoughts of Humbert Humbert, and yet driven to continue reading darkly fascinated by the twisted way his mind works and his calm justifications for his desires, and the way he spirals into paranoia and panic. It is definitely one of those books that you hate the content but love the execution. A difficult, challenging read but one I'm glad I did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, and Stalking

lissurrr's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Stalking, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

dementis93's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual content, Car accident, and Infidelity

slimepuppy's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Scary, disgusting and incredibly well written. Vivid storytelling and fleshed out, believable characters - even at their worst, most despicable. The sheer sadness I felt for Dolores and her tragic, doomed fate made me want to cry and at times I just had to drop the kindle and take a breather.

Only major complaint I can think of right now is: too much French. There are whole passages written in French, and no translation was provided in my cpoy. As a result, entire sentences were lost to me, because I was not about to transcribe whole phrases into google translate at one in the morning. As Dolly amusingly put: "But do you mind very much cutting out the French? It annoys everybody." I am everybody!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Death, Rape, and Misogyny

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Vomit, and Infidelity

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Racism, and Incest