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471 reviews for:
The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel That Scandalized the World
Sarah Weinman
3.44 AVERAGE
471 reviews for:
The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel That Scandalized the World
Sarah Weinman
3.44 AVERAGE
Sloppy research, lots of assumptions not based on fact, and random tangents like a high schooler unable to edit out any of their research, no matter how extraneous. Super disappointing and a discredit to the victim.
Part literary analysis, part true crime journalism, this book is an interesting and informative narrative that draws parallels between Nabokov’s famous Lolita and the real life case Sarah Horner.
I don’t fully know how to review this book. It’s an honest look into two tragic cases of abuse and manipulation, one fictional and the other too painfully real. It follows the threads that let us see how closely they resemble one another and how both have been forgotten in their own ways. Sarah Horner was forgotten in the shadow of other sensationalized crimes, and Dolores was always trapped under the shadow of what Humbert Humbert wanted her to be.
On the one hand, I found it to be a wonderfully educational and informative true crime novel as I learned about Sarah Horner’s case, a case I was completely unaware of. I thought the author did a fantastic job of making the case accessible to the reader, even when she had to rely on imagination to piece together the scraps of information she had managed to hunt down.
On the other hand, I also found this to be an informative insight into Nabokov’s mind and it provided a wonderful context for the next time I read Lolita. It’s a well researched history into the story of the novel itself, of how Nabokov struggled to complete it, and the various inspirations he may have taken, even as he denied any of them.
I enjoyed the book for the education and insight it provided, I found the language to be very accessible and easy to digest, while the author isn’t afraid to draw the reader in and remind us time and time again that Sarah and Dolores are both victims at the whims of men, and she isn’t afraid to pain a picture of what they survived, all the while she remains respectful of them and their experiences.
I don’t fully know how to review this book. It’s an honest look into two tragic cases of abuse and manipulation, one fictional and the other too painfully real. It follows the threads that let us see how closely they resemble one another and how both have been forgotten in their own ways. Sarah Horner was forgotten in the shadow of other sensationalized crimes, and Dolores was always trapped under the shadow of what Humbert Humbert wanted her to be.
On the one hand, I found it to be a wonderfully educational and informative true crime novel as I learned about Sarah Horner’s case, a case I was completely unaware of. I thought the author did a fantastic job of making the case accessible to the reader, even when she had to rely on imagination to piece together the scraps of information she had managed to hunt down.
On the other hand, I also found this to be an informative insight into Nabokov’s mind and it provided a wonderful context for the next time I read Lolita. It’s a well researched history into the story of the novel itself, of how Nabokov struggled to complete it, and the various inspirations he may have taken, even as he denied any of them.
I enjoyed the book for the education and insight it provided, I found the language to be very accessible and easy to digest, while the author isn’t afraid to draw the reader in and remind us time and time again that Sarah and Dolores are both victims at the whims of men, and she isn’t afraid to pain a picture of what they survived, all the while she remains respectful of them and their experiences.
This book is essentially a narratively told text book. I appreciate the parallels brought up between what may have been Nobokav’s inspiration and his finished novel though at times it felt reaching. If you only wanted to know the worst parts of the novel Lolita without reading it yourself, this is your chance. I did find myself pulled out of catharsis at times by facts/information being placed at odd times throughout the narrative. Wonderful, factual writing on the case of the kidnapping (and life) of Sally Horner.
I’m not sure there was enough here for a whole book, which is perhaps why some parts felt irrelevant, overly discussion, or too speculative to me.
After reading Lolita I decided to give this book a try. I was curious about Sally Horner’s case after listening to Lolita podcast. This was a very well thought out true crime novel with great writing. I kept wanting to find out more and it was hard to put down!
True crime + literary criticism... AWESOME! Really a good, thought provoking book. I flew through it and thoroughly enjoyed it. Would give it another half star if Goodreads let me.
An interesting dive into the mind of Vladimir Nabakov and the true story of the events that likely inspired Lolita.
I’m not usually one to knock people’s tastes in problematic art. Chinatown is my all-time favorite movie and I’d be hard pressed to never watch it again. So it’s tough for me to judge.
Which doesn’t mean that automatically immunizes me from criticism. I may be a “You do you” person but I also believe we should be critiquing our tastes at all time and remember that many of them come at a cost.
I read Lolita when I was an 18-year old college freshman. I’d like to say that I was turned off by the book because of its content, and that was part of it, but really, it was Nabakov’s prose, which was too purply for me at the time. I haven’t revisited it in large part due to the content.
So this book didn’t initially interest me when it was published because discussing any aspect of Lolita doesn’t interest me. However, I love Sarah Weinman’s work for the New York Times and the reviews I read of this made it sound like it was more of a study of this famous case and how said case inspired the book. So I decided to grab it and I’m so glad I did.
Weinman is an excellent writer but what I loved about this book was the focus on Sally Horner’s plight, culminating with the end of her tragic life and how it impacted all around her. There are several interspersed chapters that cover Nabokov’s journey to writing Lolita and how certain events coincided with developments in his process. But this is really Sally’s story and Weinman doesn’t lose sight of that, nor does she lose sight of the fact that the book itself, while taking place from the POV of a pedophile, should be centering the young girl who is a survivor.
It’s a tough read, a gut wrenching one but it’s blessedly short so I’d encourage you to pick it up if so curious. I’m not sure if Lolita fans will appreciate it or not but, at the risk of guilting them, I think it’s still important to know this story.
Which doesn’t mean that automatically immunizes me from criticism. I may be a “You do you” person but I also believe we should be critiquing our tastes at all time and remember that many of them come at a cost.
I read Lolita when I was an 18-year old college freshman. I’d like to say that I was turned off by the book because of its content, and that was part of it, but really, it was Nabakov’s prose, which was too purply for me at the time. I haven’t revisited it in large part due to the content.
So this book didn’t initially interest me when it was published because discussing any aspect of Lolita doesn’t interest me. However, I love Sarah Weinman’s work for the New York Times and the reviews I read of this made it sound like it was more of a study of this famous case and how said case inspired the book. So I decided to grab it and I’m so glad I did.
Weinman is an excellent writer but what I loved about this book was the focus on Sally Horner’s plight, culminating with the end of her tragic life and how it impacted all around her. There are several interspersed chapters that cover Nabokov’s journey to writing Lolita and how certain events coincided with developments in his process. But this is really Sally’s story and Weinman doesn’t lose sight of that, nor does she lose sight of the fact that the book itself, while taking place from the POV of a pedophile, should be centering the young girl who is a survivor.
It’s a tough read, a gut wrenching one but it’s blessedly short so I’d encourage you to pick it up if so curious. I’m not sure if Lolita fans will appreciate it or not but, at the risk of guilting them, I think it’s still important to know this story.
If you’re looking for the story of Sally Horner, aka the Real Life Lolita, keep looking or be prepared to pick through this book to read the 50ish pages that covers her.
This book was originally a magazine article and reading shows how it was stretched to become a book. Instead of what I expected: the story of Sally Horner and her short tragic life, as well as what little is known about her time in captivity. What I got is a book with that, then filled in with a biography of Nabokov and his family, how long and part of the method of how his most famous book was written, and mini biographies of several other people involved in the original case.
This book was originally a magazine article and reading shows how it was stretched to become a book. Instead of what I expected: the story of Sally Horner and her short tragic life, as well as what little is known about her time in captivity. What I got is a book with that, then filled in with a biography of Nabokov and his family, how long and part of the method of how his most famous book was written, and mini biographies of several other people involved in the original case.
What a heartbreaking story! I confess that I had never considered Lolita having been adapted from a real life story. I also confess to never having read it. I know the gist and that was enough for me; moreso now that I know Sally's story and how Nabokov erased her to be seen as some creative genuis who didn't need outside influence.
In New Jersey, a young girl is caught shoplifting a cheap notebook. The man who catches her says he's an FBI agent who must keep an eye on her. He will go on to kidnap her and carry her across the country, abusing her along the way. Honestly, any description of Frank La Salle made my skin crawl. His abuse, manipulation and control of Sally was horrific and I cannot imagine being in her shoes. I sped through the parts of the story where she is finally (at last!) rescued from her ordeal. I felt the urgency she must have felt.
The comparisons between Lolita and Sally's case are so apparent that it's a little absurd that Nabokov denied so vehemently.
In New Jersey, a young girl is caught shoplifting a cheap notebook. The man who catches her says he's an FBI agent who must keep an eye on her. He will go on to kidnap her and carry her across the country, abusing her along the way. Honestly, any description of Frank La Salle made my skin crawl. His abuse, manipulation and control of Sally was horrific and I cannot imagine being in her shoes. I sped through the parts of the story where she is finally (at last!) rescued from her ordeal. I felt the urgency she must have felt.
The comparisons between Lolita and Sally's case are so apparent that it's a little absurd that Nabokov denied so vehemently.