Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

61 reviews

taelights's review against another edition

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

4.0

I was honestly a bit worried going into this book because I have seen people in the past have bad takes on this book saying it's a love story or that it romanticizes pedophilia or that it's suppose to make you sympathize with a pedophile. But this is also a book that I've always been morbidly curious about and wanted to form my own opinion of so I decided to give it a try. 

Now I honestly think anyone who believes this book romanticizes pedophilia is either 1) fucked up, 2) has not read the book and is making assumptions, or 3) doesn't have an ounce of critical thinking skills and no ability to analyze a book. You can tell that Nabokov doesn't agree with Humbert's character or actions. 

Honestly this book was lowkey kind of a masterpiece. Vladimir Nabokov's writing style is beautiful and this is such a good genius example of an unreliable narrator story. The subject matter was of course disgusting and so many lines made me feel nauseated but it was such an interesting read. I kind of want to read it through again in the future to better analyze the book now that I have a picture of the whole story arch. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual content, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

another_dahlia's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Alcoholism, Gun violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Car accident

lavendercookie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Lolita is completely misinterpreted in pop culture (which I knew going into the book) as many people romanticize it; so I want to make it very clear that this book is about child abuse. Dolores Haze’s story takes place in the late 40’s and early 50’s but it is still very relevant today as child abuse is not talked about enough. It is truly heartbreaking that the book got twisted so much by adaptations and misinterpretations but I can appreciate that Nabokov was attempting to shed light on an under discussed problem in a time where these matters were not discussed in public. The writing is done in such an intentional way that caused me to feel extreme disgust while at the same time finding the poetic quality of the prose beautiful. I personally liked Lolita but anyone interested in reading it must check the list of trigger warnings. Read with caution. 

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Content Warnings

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

spritebabie's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Confinement, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexism, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

hamzamazzine's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pedophilia

bi_n_large's review against another edition

challenging dark funny tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Incest, and Murder

Moderate: Racial slurs, Fatphobia, Death of parent, and Death

Minor: Racism and Mental illness

cami_y's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Gun violence and Death

alisakbr's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, Physical abuse, and Gun violence

Minor: Fatphobia

devin_raquel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.0

In all honesty, I was let down by this novel, especially since this a book that is considered a classic in the literary community. I’m going to assume that somethings got lost in translation, since Nobokov’s orginial manuscript was in Russian. I was expecting to read something revolutionary, but instead, it seemed to me the ramblings of a depressed, self-conscious, pedophile. 
There are a few sections in this novel where I caught myself thinking that Humbert Humbert and Lolita’s romance would be a coveted one if the age gap wasn’t so vast. 
The drolling paragraphs, that went on and on, made for a difficult read and a confusing narrative; I found myself confused more than once within these pages. If you’re looking for a forbidden romance, or even for a book that will make your skin crawl, I would suggest picking up something else.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Incest, and Kidnapping

Minor: Death of parent, Gun violence, and Murder

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