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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Nabakov truly is the master. The plot and pacing of this was perfect, the novella feeling set in a wider world, away from the protagonists depravity. Often this book was deeply uncomfortable but the prose was so well-crafted that it implores you to carry on reading. When the protagonist received his karma, I felt great relief and satisfaction , a catharsis. Perhaps I'm rating this highly because I am yet to read Lolita thus I'm excited to experience VN's magnum opus.
Certainly not as good as Lolita, but still pretty great in its own right, especially given its brevity. As usual, Nabokov has some stunning turns of phrase, and, also as usual, that gorgeous verbiage is generally used to describe some of the most vile and thoroughly unpleasant characters/acts you’ll ever read.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
You know who enchants me? Nabokov. Every damn time goddam you. I need to reread lolita..
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
dark
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia
Minor: Ableism
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
can definitely see how this is a precursor to Lolita but also distinct as a story in its own right - also kind of convoluted at times and actually a lot more explicit in some regards than it's successor
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Much more interesting than Lolita despite following the same themes. I feel that Nabokov makes this antihero / antagonist figure much more tolerable in terms of him being despicable but a savage personality vacuum whereas Humbert Humbert was just irritating and vile. The events described occur with much better pacing, the language is more beautiful to me than Lolita and it is overall much more captivating and horrible in a way. I can see how this is the predecessor to Lolita. It's almost like the superior novella clone. I sped through it and honestly I prefer it. Lolita was both disgusting and dull. This was heinous but very picturesque in its description, the language Nabokov uses is really unrivalled. He knows how to characterise his protagonists as abominable, clearly.