Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

41 reviews

bill369's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.75

I and my dear friend have read Lolita together.

I don't have a favourite character and I suppose it wasn't the author's intention for the reader to like the main characters. He did that well. I do dislike both Humbert Humbert and Dollores.

For me, this book was rather boring. Sure the plot was interesting in a way however not gripping enough. Reading this book even felt like a chore at a time. Except for the marvellous writing, there's nothing to highlight. And for the writing and the writing only, this book gets the rating it gets.

Page 300, made up predestined destiny.

 

I have often noticed that we are inclined to endow our friends with the stability of type that literary characters acquire in the reader’s mind. No matter how many times we reopen “King Lear,” never shall we find the good king banging his tankard in high revelry, all woes forgotten, at a jolly reunion with all three daughters and their lapdogs. Never will Emma rally, revived by the sympathetic salts in Flaubert’s father’s timely tear. Whatever evolution this or that popular character has gone through between the book covers, his fate is fixed in our minds, and, similarly, we expect our friends to follow this or that logical and conventional pattern we have fixed for them. Thus X will never compose the immortal music that would clash with the second-rate symphonies he has accustomed us to. Y will never commit murder. Under no circumstances can Z ever betray us. We have it all arranged in our minds, and the less often we see a particular person the more satisfying it is to check how obediently he conforms to our notion of him every time we hear of him. Any deviation in the fates we have ordained would strike us as not only anomalous but unethical. We would prefer not to have known at all our neighbour, the retired hot-dog stand operator, if it turns out he has just produced the greatest book of poetry his age has seen.

 

The end of the book was one of the better parts. I did enjoy it.

Overall, I'm glad I read the book. The writing is amazing despite the story being unappealing to me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Body shaming and Sexism

Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Car accident, Child death, and Pregnancy

quinn24's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Stalking, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death, Rape, Suicide, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Body shaming, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Transphobia

Minor: Racism, Drug use, Alcohol, and Antisemitism

m0rdred_the_fallen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.75

Seré honesto, leí el libro sólo para formarme mi propia opinión sobre el; por lo mismo no lo abandoné, a pesar de que llegó un momento en que pensé "Ugh, aun si estuvieras hablando de una mujer de tu edad, te pediría que pares con el lenguaje tan floreado".
Ahora que lo terminé, puedo decir que entiendo, completamente, porqué es tan controversial pero el lenguaje tan lírico y floreado realmente me molestaron al leerlo. También está el hecho de que, en mi opinión, puedes quitarle un tercio, o hasta dos, del libro y seguiría entendiendose porque HH toma para siempre para hacer cualquier cosa.

Incluso podría centrarse en uno de los viajes a los que HH obliga a Lolita a ir, o el escape de Lolita, o el asesinato de Clare Quilty

 
Personalmente, fue una lectura pesada, entiendo porqué es polémica, pero no empaticé ni con HH y Lolita no tiene ni voz en el libro así que tampoco me apegué mucho a ella. 
El final fue bueno,

por un momento pensé que viviria el resto de sus días impune, atacando otras niñas, así que verlo ir a prisión por asesinato fue un buen giro

también es donde siento que el ritmo fue mucho más llevadero.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Gun violence

Minor: Car accident, Cursing, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, and Death of parent

kenchingfox's review against another edition

challenging dark funny lighthearted medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Murder, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Body shaming, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Bullying, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Stalking

e_hng's review against another edition

challenging dark tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Pregnancy, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Alcohol

bea_gsm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Blood, Murder, and Gun violence

Minor: Alcohol and Death of parent

house_of_hannah's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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

4.0

It's been two days since I finished this book, and I still have no idea how to write a review. I think many write this book off as creepy pedo fodder, but wow is it so much more than it's title indicates. This is a descent into the psyche of a mentally ill man who twists reality to abolish his guilt. 

Our narrator, Humbert Humbert, who we never learn the true name of, twists a tale to try to make himself out as the victim. However, he has moments of clarity where he realizes how terrible what he is doing is, and considers himself a monster. These moments are then erased by his mind twisting the actions of a young girl into something they should never be perceived as. There are also cracks here though, as he notices Dolly (Lolita) crying herself to sleep every night, and how she reacts to a normal father/daughter relationship. 

This book starts off in one direction, but then takes many twists and turns to where we are experiencing the genres of horror, mystery, thriller, and psychology as well. The very beginning of this story starts with Humbert already in custody, so this is a retelling of events. He's quite good at self-analysis, and begins his tale with explaining the event that happened in his childhood that has caused his vile tastes. As someone who is interested in the psychology behind our actions I find this book to be fascinating and frighteningly realistic.

Nabokov has written this book in a way that flows beautifully. So little is outright said, and instead many euphamisms are used to keep the lyrical effect. It constrasts so well with the actual content that I can definitely see why some might call this a masterpiece. Nonetheless, I honestly could not imagine reading this book if I had children of my own. The last sentence of the Foreword really stuck with me through this story (It is also written by a Nabokov character). It is as follows: "Lolita should make all of us - parents, social workers, educators - apply ourselves with still greater vigilance and vision to the task of bringing up a better generation in a safer world."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Stalking, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Incest, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Child abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Violence

Minor: Blood, Pregnancy, Murder, Medical content, and Gun violence

jmcordero's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Car accident, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Infidelity, and Physical abuse

Minor: Pregnancy and Stalking

karenaerts's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, and Rape

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Car accident, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, and Stalking

bunivly's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.0

this book was the ultimate mind fuck. honestly think i need five years to recover from it fully. its disturbing and cringe worthy but so well written. using such flowery and feminine language to describe such a dark and unsettling novel was such a beautiful choice. when i say “it’s complicated” for lovable characters, i mean dolores who has now become one of my favorite characters of all time. the only reason this book didnt get a five for me is because at some points it becomes so painfully slow, i can not bare to read more than five pages in a day. overall, this book is a must read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Alcohol and Murder

Minor: Body shaming