Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Lolita

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.

Content Warnings

clonegarden's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

kmae314's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Would not read again. I’ve seen enough.

Content Warnings

phantomsparrow's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark tense slow-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

5.0

Content Warnings

andrewfischerr19's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark tense 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

Wow. I just went into this book knowing that Kubrick adapted it (haven't watched it yet, but planning to). It was very intriguing seeing how Nabokov wrote in the perspective of an abuser, and I found that my favorite parts where Humbert scoffs and spits in your face for assuming the right thing. the character manipulates you and you often catch yourself saying "wait a second, I know what you're doing." Overall, Lolita is beautifully written and if you can handle the subject matter I heavily recommend.

Content Warnings

djdimond's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

5.0

Content Warnings

ferris_wheel's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

After a month or so of this book weighing heavy on my mind, I completed it with tears. A painful memoir of a charismatic, lying pedophile. To be swayed by the words of Humbert Humbert because as a reader you do not know what really happened. The eyes of Humbert are evil and therefore project evil. The sadness I felt once finishing the book was for Dolores. She’s not real, but her story is real for many children.

Content Warnings

fabianu's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional tense slow-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

5.0

Dear reader, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, please don’t look down upon H.H’s actions against Dolores. For a lepidopterist will take a beautiful creature and pin it to a wall to observe its beauty but taking away its life creating nothing more than an object. H.H. sees no difference from his Dolly to a scientists butterfly. (I am not defending H.H. In any way shape or form just making light in the community of such a depraved book). I absolutely loved how lyrical this book is narrated however, I will forever praise Nabokov’s writing. And I only wish the general public understood this book when released back in the 50’s. It’s a serious book that deals with serious matters and yet no matter how much Nabokov plead to get his readers to understand his book. He was forever misunderstood as they thought he was H.H. My only wish is that this book did not-and still is- perverted and normalized with a minor or adults acting like a child. However, the way the public took this book does not under any circumstance ruin my “enjoyment” of this masterpiece. I understand what Nabokov was writing about and I will never defend H.H.’s actions. Only condemn. (This was fun to write, read the book if you’re curious and if you’ve already read it maybe read it again?

Content Warnings

More...