Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

390 reviews

katherineellen's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“Life is just one small piece of light between two eternal darknesses.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Murder, and Pedophilia

dr_sol's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Drug use, Addiction, and Drug abuse

Minor: Death of parent

batrick_pateman's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Where to start?
This is one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read, maybe even the most beautifully written. Nabokov was a master at playing with language, it's amazing that he only started writing in English in the middle of his life and career. I'm in awe of the writing, and the plot makes me feel filthy. Like a stain I can't remove.
In a lesser writer's hands, Humbert Humbert would be a stock character and this book would be worse than worthless - but Nabokov turns it into a dissection of not just a predator's psyche, but the reader's idea of a predator's psyche. At every turn, H. H. is trying to win the reader's sympathy - he never lies, but he obscures, justifies, begs, contrasts himself with

Quilty

, and does everything else he can to hide the fact that he is a monster. Thanks to Nabokov's writing, it almost works - recognizing H. H. as a monster and a predator forces you to reject the popular image of The Pedophile and re-think your idea of what predators are like. Brilliant, disturbing, important, gorgeously written, and a book I'll definitely return to someday.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Gun violence and Murder

simply_jxde's review against another edition

This was a lot and it wasn't my cup of tea. I know this book doesn't condone

pedophilia

but reading it regardless was painful and revolting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Pedophilia

charlotteturt's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Grief, Incest, Sexual assault, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Misogyny, and Kidnapping

carinaisabelle's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It's quite disturbing reading something this beautifully written about something so truly disgusting, disturbing and abusive.

Over the years I've heard that this is a love story. It is not (!). This is a story about repeatedly abuse. It tells the story of a young girl who has her childhood brutally taken away from her by a middle aged man, told from his perspective. 

HH is not a reliabl narrator, and we can't trust him to tell us the truth. He tries to hide Dolly's fear from us,and he doesn't even use her real name. He calls her Lolita. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Murder

m4rtt4's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

no book has ever made me want to throw up this much

BUT

I can't say that the book was bad. The writing was repulsive yet undeniably compelling, it made me want to bleach my eyes AND hopelessly keep reading as if I could save the little girl by turning pages. I wanted to know, I needed to know — yet still, I now wish I knew nothing at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Mental illness and Death of parent

_jasper_394's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-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

2.0

I think if you are going to read this book you must be aware that there are certain things described so lyrically so you start picturing the scene then you remember the narrator is speaking about a child and a pang of disgust hits you and you want to violently hit your head against a wall. But if you're okay with that then it's a pretty easy book to get into classics if that's what you're looking for (which is why I read it). Overall, I personally didn't like it but I think that's more of a me issue as I didn't do enough research into its contents before reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Rape, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Child abuse

moominenjoyer's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Murder

Minor: Racial slurs

clonegarden's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

extremely well-written. healing to read the book after being poisoned by the 1997 movie adaptation, and the surrounding lana del rey flavored nymphet culture. while the text condemns humbert, i wonder if there was a more responsible way to tell this story, though hindsight is...well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault