The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel That Scandalized the World by Sarah Weinman

3.44 AVERAGE

abyakron's review against another edition

4.0
Girl can’t catch a break!!!

ladycatsnark's review

3.75
emotional informative sad medium-paced
courtneymeyer's profile picture

courtneymeyer's review against another edition

3.0
Before reading / listening -
I didn't know if I wanted to spend time with this but as soon as I saw that Cassandra Campbell narrates this book... be still my heart. I can spend seven hours on this. *put on hold in my online library app*

This book was alright. Having read [b:Lolita|7604|Lolita|Vladimir Nabokov|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1377756377l/7604._SY75_.jpg|1268631] a few years back this novel really caught my attention. Although it wasn't SOUND - it was rather entertaining. I had never heard about the kidnapping of Sally Horner (which broke my damn heart) and I will admit that her story is very closely aligned to Nabokov's Lolita. I enjoyed learning more about [a:Vladimir Nabokov|5152|Vladimir Nabokov|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1482502806p2/5152.jpg]'s life and honestly prompts me to further look into reading a biography about him.

Oh and Campbell's voice as a narrator is a dream, as always.

anitaofplaybooktag's review against another edition

3.0
I loved the idea of this book, but the execution fell a little flat. Weinman tells the true crime story of Sally Horner's kidnapping and then attempts to prove how [a:Vladimir Nabokov|5152|Vladimir Nabokov|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1482502806p2/5152.jpg] used it as inspiration for the story of Lolita. If you haven't read Lolita, I think this book will be a hard one to appreciate. If you have, you may find the evidence for his reliance on the Sally Horner story to be a little forced. Realistically, pedophilia is not some new phenomenon, and the Horner story is more unique because it was a kidnapping than because a small, powerless girl didn't tell anyone.

Originally, this book began as a magazine article, and I think that was probably the best format for it. However, the true crime story of Sally is quite interesting (and horrifying), and those who like true crime AND who have read Lolita will probably find this book to be thought provoking if not especially compelling.

ddemille29's review

3.5
challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

lola425's review against another edition

3.0
Quick, interesting read. I am not sure that I bought Weinman's central premise--that Nabokov owed more to Sally Horner than history has acknowledged. Sally Horner entered his consciousness, for sure, but Lolita is Lolita because of Nabokov's vision, not because of a news item.
girlygirlreader's profile picture

girlygirlreader's review against another edition

3.5
dark emotional informative sad medium-paced
I liked this book given I knew very little about the author of Lolita. It gave a good amount of information about the authors life. I liked how it flipped between the two stories and compared them. The ending was a bit disappointing. I felt like I was awaiting a big reveal that never came. More time could have been spent on the last effects of Lolita. 
torgiepie's profile picture

torgiepie's review against another edition

4.0
dark reflective sad medium-paced
Another great feminine rage read. Goes to show how often gross people are allowed to get away with horrific things.

jennahl's review

4.0
challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced
grendels_mother's profile picture

grendels_mother's review against another edition

4.25
informative reflective sad medium-paced