Reviews - The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel That Scandalized the World

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473 reviews for:

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

An expertly written and researched true crime book that explored one of literature's most controversial books. I suppose I would've been more captivated by this if I had read Lolita before. Even though the author often helps to draw lines between the two stories, I can't help but to feel like I'm really missing something. It also was pretty dry on occasion which might just be a side effect of my personal inability to connect with all of the source material.

lorddangernoodle's review against another edition

3.0

The book kind of wanders but it was rather good. I've looked up the Sally Horner case after reading Lolita five years ago. I'm glad I was able to get more information.

amyg88's review against another edition

2.0

I love a great genre mash up, but if you’re looking for a perfect mix of true crime and literary criticism, this book isn’t it. The writing is compelling, if not sensationalistic, as true crime tends to be, but the implication that Nabokov somehow exacerbated the crime against Sally Horner is hyperbolic at best, and certainly not sound literary criticism.

Are authors affected by the stories and culture around them? Of course. They are human beings living in the world. Is a true story of the kidnapping and abuse of an 11 year old grist for great fiction? It is when it is indicative of larger societal trends that see the bodies of women and children commodified and "owned" by those, often older men, who hold power over them.

The fact that for years many readers have been seduced into believing Humbert Humbert and his lies rather than noticing Dolores and her pain says much more about how we as a society view the power play between victims of sexual assault and their rapists than about Nabokov and his ability to read the news. The story of Sally Horner is sad. So is the story in Lolita. If the author of this book had spent more time exploring the social norms Nabokov is exposing instead of looking to "kill the messenger," she would have created a more compelling argument.