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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
Giving this five stars partially because it includes two things I love: true crime and literary analysis. The story of Sally Horner is absolutely tragic and the author did an amazing job of including all pieces of the puzzle, as well as her still living family… but she also brings in the influences the case may have had on the staple literary novel, Lolita.
The way this was put together was really interesting, mixing true crime with an analysis of Lolita and this authors view on the author of the well known read.
The way this was put together was really interesting, mixing true crime with an analysis of Lolita and this authors view on the author of the well known read.
informative
sad
slow-paced
dark
informative
medium-paced
Several tragedies are interwoven in this look at a crime that parelled the novel Lolita. Sally Hornerr's kidnapping and rape, her early death, and it's inspiration of a novel that is repeatedly misinterpreted to celebrate sexualization of young girls. The research to recapture Sally's story and determine what really happened is both compelling and heartbreaking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Kidnapping
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
Shocking, what Sally Horner endured. The struggle for normalcy beyond her kidnapping, and the tapestry of folks who were part of her rescue, are heartbreaking. I find myself thinking of who she could have been.
Nabokov was a pretentious true crime buff with his own secrets. The deep dive into his life really slowed the pacing and was oddly unnecessary.
Nabokov was a pretentious true crime buff with his own secrets. The deep dive into his life really slowed the pacing and was oddly unnecessary.
First, last, and always, Lolita is my all time favorite book. I wasn't sure I wanted to read this book. Would it somehow taint my feelings about Lolita? Would it ruin everything? The short answer is no and no.
If the thought that Nabokov based his novel on real life events would ruin everything for you, then I guess you wouldn't want to read this. But that's silly, right? Every author writes based on their real life experiences, people they know or have read about, dreams, etc... It's not as though stories just magically appear on the page (aka, screen) in front of them.
I've never read anything about Nabokov (again, didn't want to ruin my feelings about Lolita), but Weinman does a great job of revealing the sort of day to day stuff of Nabokov's life. Who knew he was super interested in butterflies? Funny to learn that he was somewhat similar to good ol' Humbert (not in the pervy way, but in the professor sort of way).
Interspersed with stories of Nabokov and Lolita, is the sad, truly tragic story of Sally Horner's short life. When you hear these details, it's pretty clear that her story inspired Nabokov's Lolita (at least in some part). This doesn't make me love Lolita in any less. Why was it such a big deal for Nabokov and his wife that they had to keep denying it? It doesn't make his novel any less amaze-balls.
Weinman describes aspects of Lolita in a thought provoking way. She articulates what I knew in the back of my mind, but just sort of blithely ignored all these years of reading Lolita. How Nabokov seduces the reader with his words into almost feeling sorry for Humbert - the pervy, selfish, life-ruining pedo! I mean, I admit, I've always felt a little bad for him...he was in LOVE (aka obsessed with) with Lolita and couldn't help it. I've always felt that little Lo was a strong, wily girl who wielded what power she had with a stubborn, desperate tenacity and therefore, she couldn't be permanently "ruined" by Humbert. That's the magic of Nabokov's writing. No matter what, even with an odious topic and even through the lens of today's social/ political climate, nobody in their right mind can deny that Lolita is beautifully written.
Weinman's book kind of peters out towards the end and I was left unsure as to whether I really liked it or just liked it, but in the end I decided I really liked it. She enlightened me about Nabokov and providing insight into Lolita. And she told Sally Horner's story in a factual, non-salacious way.
If the thought that Nabokov based his novel on real life events would ruin everything for you, then I guess you wouldn't want to read this. But that's silly, right? Every author writes based on their real life experiences, people they know or have read about, dreams, etc... It's not as though stories just magically appear on the page (aka, screen) in front of them.
I've never read anything about Nabokov (again, didn't want to ruin my feelings about Lolita), but Weinman does a great job of revealing the sort of day to day stuff of Nabokov's life. Who knew he was super interested in butterflies? Funny to learn that he was somewhat similar to good ol' Humbert (not in the pervy way, but in the professor sort of way).
Interspersed with stories of Nabokov and Lolita, is the sad, truly tragic story of Sally Horner's short life. When you hear these details, it's pretty clear that her story inspired Nabokov's Lolita (at least in some part). This doesn't make me love Lolita in any less. Why was it such a big deal for Nabokov and his wife that they had to keep denying it? It doesn't make his novel any less amaze-balls.
Weinman describes aspects of Lolita in a thought provoking way. She articulates what I knew in the back of my mind, but just sort of blithely ignored all these years of reading Lolita. How Nabokov seduces the reader with his words into almost feeling sorry for Humbert - the pervy, selfish, life-ruining pedo! I mean, I admit, I've always felt a little bad for him...he was in LOVE (aka obsessed with) with Lolita and couldn't help it. I've always felt that little Lo was a strong, wily girl who wielded what power she had with a stubborn, desperate tenacity and therefore, she couldn't be permanently "ruined" by Humbert. That's the magic of Nabokov's writing. No matter what, even with an odious topic and even through the lens of today's social/ political climate, nobody in their right mind can deny that Lolita is beautifully written.
Weinman's book kind of peters out towards the end and I was left unsure as to whether I really liked it or just liked it, but in the end I decided I really liked it. She enlightened me about Nabokov and providing insight into Lolita. And she told Sally Horner's story in a factual, non-salacious way.
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Heartbreaking but felt like this could have been a very interesting, long magazine article and not a full-fledged book.
dark
informative
reflective