Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Being Lolita: A Memoir

what a book.

in this raw and vulnerable memoir, alisson wood describes not only her relationship with being groomed by her english-teacher as a highschool student but also the ways he used the reoccurring literary motive of lolita throughout their relationship to manipulate her into thinking that what she indured was a lovestory and not abuse.
she deeply analyses the effects, parallels and dangers of misinterpretation regarding nabokovs 'real' literary lolita, that more often than not show an uncomfortable parallel to her own history and has too often been misused to shift the blame and justify predatory behavior and abuse instead of acting as the cautionary tale it actually should be read as.

i listened to this on audible once again (i am really getting a little too obsessed) and i loved how the author read the book herself, at times it made me feel like listening to an old friend, sharing her formative past with a cup of coffee on hand.

raw, vulnerable, shocking, eyeopening - an absolute masterpiece and the biggest recommendation!

»that in order to be attractive, irresistible, to be worthy of notice, was to be both beautiful and in open need, to be damaged. the perfect artistry of pretty and pain. nabokov wrote that beauty plus pity is the closest we can get to art.«

»yes, 'lolita' is beautiful. but yes, it's also terrible. we can hold both in our hands.«

Content Warnings

marcia__amelie's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

4.25

a raw, agonising & vulnerable exploration of abuse, consent & exploitation. this book was an emotional journey, knowing that this was a real story. that this was somebody’s life. the writing was haunting & lyrical most of the time but there were some aspects that i found a bit too vague. it was deeply uncomfortable reading how the teacher misinterprets the twisted classic “lolita,” to justify his abuse. the last third of the book genuinely made me cry. her adult voice taking over as she realised what she experienced & had to endure was not love was devastating. the scene where she was looking at the old photographs and it dawned on her that she was just a child??? crying. the way wood breaks from nabokov’s narrative structure to rewrite her own story was uplifting & memorable. the strength and courage it must have took to lay your heart bare and tell this story is remarkable. it’s a memoir i believe people should read but please look at the trigger warnings!! this is not an easy read!!

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