Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

124 reviews

nina_mk's review against another edition

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

3.75


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chasethecoder's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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geesammy's review against another edition

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Not able to focus on the story - too disturbed.  But I WILL resume later this year…

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aisclaradm's review against another edition

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

4.0

Really incredible. I was in a bit of a reading slump and it took me longer than it should have to get through the book, but I never didn’t enjoy it. Despite how vile the narrator and his actions are, there’s something strangely touching about how pathetic and hateful he is. Right from the very beginning until the very last page, this book was just beautiful, though one feels uncomfortable and disgusting throughout most of it. 

Sometimes a tad slow, but that’s more so an indictment of my attention span and less so of one on the book itself.

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krzem's review against another edition

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

5.0


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fflur's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

Lolita is a beautifully written novel,  filled with poetic prose. The French phrases intertwined with the English enriches the text, and the rapid pace mimics the way H.H.'s thoughts flow in and out of his mind. 

I originally wanted to rate this book incredibly low, given the topic being disturbing and violently horrific. However, upon reflection, I must appreciate the author's ability to evoke such repulsion, along with a host of other negative emotions. 

While the majority of the book focused on Humbert, towards the end I found myself more focused on Dolores (aka Lolita) and her life, or what her life could have been. The description of the emptiness behind her eyes left me experiencing a hollowness, sympathy for a life stolen from her, and for a childhood unfulfilled. 

Before reading this book, potential readers should check the content warnings. The pages upon pages of descriptions of 'nymphets' and his attraction to them left me feeling physically ill. 

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roseaboveyou's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious 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

5.0


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kazli's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

god this book was heartbreaking. it follows a man named humbert humbert who falls in love with his step daughter, and you know it's wrong but because humbert is an unreliable narrator he makes you believe that he is actually in love with his 'lolita' when in reality she is just a child who wanted a normal life and a normal family.

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jalyhn's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I give this a high rating because it is written beautifully and an amazing book to annotate and analyze. I had so much fun picking apart everything Humbert did to find out what was >SPOILER<

an illusion or something he made up and what is real.  

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g1lg4mesh's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

I find myself in a pickle of sorts in reviewing this book- I cannot in good faith blindly recommend it, and yet it is simultaneously the most incredible text I have ever engaged with. Lolita simply redefines the standard of the masterpiece, building not a glass ceiling (such tangibilities are beneath it), rather, casting the colloquial “bar” to the very heavens, where it may never be seen again. Only read this book if you are prepared to finish it- know too that this is no simple matter- but read this book, if you may be so bold. It will challenge you, and you may want to hurl it into a fire at times, but still, you simply must make it to that final page. This is a book that redefines the 5th star, and shakes any attempt at literary tier lists to its very core.

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