Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
Quisiera ser una de esas personas que se "maravillan" con esta "obra de arte" . Pero no 100% honesta, no es un estilo para mi.
Tiene cosas rescatables y es que para mi era un constante entender que el protagonista , sabia que no esta bien lo que hacia.
Pero fuera se eso fue un libro que me costo mucho terminar.
Tiene cosas rescatables y es que para mi era un constante entender que el protagonista , sabia que no esta bien lo que hacia.
Pero fuera se eso fue un libro que me costo mucho terminar.
“The moral sense in mortals is the duty we have to pay on mortal sense of beauty”
dark
reflective
medium-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
The writing is mesmerizing and Jeremy Irons does an amazing job reading it, but the subject material is very disturbing. Although maybe it’s the sign of great writing that it evokes such a visceral reaction. I’m honestly having trouble rating it so going with 3 stars.
Entiendo muy bien todo lo que hace que el libro sea considerado dentro de los clásicos, pero no puedo evitar que me dé repelús. Igual, 10/10 con la crítica a la sociedad americana y la depravación.
OMG! I don’t even know how to rate this book! The subject matter alone makes you think “why would a person, a MAN, write a book about this?”, but then you actually read the story and it’s really good. I read this book in one sitting. There is just so much going on here and you don’t know what to believe. The narrator isn’t the most reliable because...well he’s an eff’n creep and a liar!
I’m just so torn!
I’m just so torn!
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lolita (Russisch: Лолита) geschreven door de Russisch-Amerikaanse schrijver Vladimir Nabokov uit 1955 (eerste Engelse vertaling). Dit is een van de meest controversiële boeken die ik heb gelezen. Dit is, omdat we in het boek de ervaringen en het leven volgen van Humbert Humbert. Dit maakt het boek niet controversieel, wat dat het wel maakt is Humbert zijn pedofilie. In het boek volgen we hoe Humbert een huis binnentrekt voor tijdelijk verblijf, maar verliefd word op het 13 jarige dochtertje van zijn huisbazin, Lolita. Door het boek heen lezen wij hoe Humber manisch verliefd word op Lolita en hoe hij geobsedeerd alles probeert te doen om meer tijd met haar te besteden. Hij besluit uiteindelijk om met haar moeder, de huisbazin te trouwen, maar als deze dame achter zijn verschrikkelijke gedachten komt, rent ze naar buiten, word ze aangereden en sterft ze. Dit geeft Humbert de mogelijkheid alle tijd met Lolita te besteden. In de rest van het verhaal lezen we de reis die zij samen door Amerika maken, de roze bril waardoor Humbert naar Lolita kijkt, hoe hij paranoïde word om haar kwijt te raken, haar uiteindelijk kwijt raakt, maar meer ga ik niet verklappen. Het is een ontzettend spannend boek dat ook prachtige geschreven is en je pakt vanaf de eerste bladzijden. Tegelijkertijd is het een boek dat in mijn optiek het beste het is gelukt om je mee te nemen de leefwereld van een pedofiel in. Om deze redenen is het boek lang verboden vanwege bijvoorbeeld romantisering of normalisering van pedofilie. Dit maakte mij even huiverig dit boek hier te bespreken, maar de laatste jaren kan men het verhaal meer waarderen als literair werk en is men minder angstig voor de thema’s in het boek. Ik kan het boek dan ook zeker aanraden. Het is qua inhoud geen makkelijk boek voor je gevoel van beschaving en je bewustzijn, maar dat mag soms ook wel met een goed boek. Ik hoop dat jullie het boek een kans geven!
https://youtu.be/bGcYwPRn2-c
https://youtu.be/bGcYwPRn2-c
I thought this was mostly a story about a monster and a rather innocent little girl. I was expecting to feel hate or disapproval for him and sorry for her.
Well, I was wrong.
Nabokov is clever in not making this a book that focuses on sex, pedophiliac at that, by grossly doing without actual sex scenes or even suggesting them for most of the book. I assumed this would then be more into the psychology of a middle-aged men infatuated with a young girl. It wasn't even that.
What it was ended up reinforcing my growing belief throughout the read that neither Humbert nor Lolita are to feel compassion for, nor empathy. Both are tragedies of persons, wholly different, but still. While Humbert comes out as a pitiful man, that is rather a victim of his own urges rather than an evil character, Lolita seems a bratty but innocent girl at first, only to turn out as an exploitative, cunningly clever, cynical, and downright victim of most of her own decisions. She elicits no sympathies, and once you are left with no characters to support or relate to, it becomes a too bleak, and boring, book.
There is not much salvageable in the characters of Lolita and Humbert. Both are quite different but both victims of their own choices. As a reader, there is not much to learn, to gain insights into, or to just become passionate about. It reminded me of Nick Cave's books, but those evoked way more passions and emotions in general than the vastly more interested in writing wiry phrases and witty comparisons' Nabokov writing style does.
In the end, the book feels hollow because it does not take any stance, it does not delve deeper into anybody's psychology to make us understand their reason (or folly, or criminal attitudes, whatever...). I lost most of the interests in the story and characters once I lost any empathy for Lolita, around 40% into the reading. It is wonderfully written, but Nabokov insists in making a similitude every other phrases (for Chrissake Vladimir, what are "Mycenean hygiene" and "Javanese hand gestures"?!). It is pleasant to read until you feel like it just weighs down the book, making it longer for no actual reason.
Could have been better, should have been better.
Well, I was wrong.
Nabokov is clever in not making this a book that focuses on sex, pedophiliac at that, by grossly doing without actual sex scenes or even suggesting them for most of the book. I assumed this would then be more into the psychology of a middle-aged men infatuated with a young girl. It wasn't even that.
What it was ended up reinforcing my growing belief throughout the read that neither Humbert nor Lolita are to feel compassion for, nor empathy. Both are tragedies of persons, wholly different, but still. While Humbert comes out as a pitiful man, that is rather a victim of his own urges rather than an evil character, Lolita seems a bratty but innocent girl at first, only to turn out as an exploitative, cunningly clever, cynical, and downright victim of most of her own decisions. She elicits no sympathies, and once you are left with no characters to support or relate to, it becomes a too bleak, and boring, book.
There is not much salvageable in the characters of Lolita and Humbert. Both are quite different but both victims of their own choices. As a reader, there is not much to learn, to gain insights into, or to just become passionate about. It reminded me of Nick Cave's books, but those evoked way more passions and emotions in general than the vastly more interested in writing wiry phrases and witty comparisons' Nabokov writing style does.
In the end, the book feels hollow because it does not take any stance, it does not delve deeper into anybody's psychology to make us understand their reason (or folly, or criminal attitudes, whatever...). I lost most of the interests in the story and characters once I lost any empathy for Lolita, around 40% into the reading. It is wonderfully written, but Nabokov insists in making a similitude every other phrases (for Chrissake Vladimir, what are "Mycenean hygiene" and "Javanese hand gestures"?!). It is pleasant to read until you feel like it just weighs down the book, making it longer for no actual reason.
Could have been better, should have been better.
i didn’t expect that ending. i had to go back and reread the prologue to answer some questions. truly a very interesting book