A review by luisr
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

challenging dark reflective sad 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

4.0

 

In a world filled with books where prose is treated almost like an afterthought, Lolita manages to demonstrate why that shouldn't be the case, even with the horrifying subject matter. 

Lolita follows the tale of "Humbert Humbert" - pseudonym he gives himself for anonymity, and his predatory relationship with Dolores "Lolita" Haze. From the very beginning, Humbert establishes himself as a pedophile, and he begins telling us of the story of how he met Lolita, her mother, and all the horrible actions he took to fulfill his fantasies. 

The subject matter in the book is obviously very delicate, and a hard read, definitely not for everyone. But if you can get past that, this might be the most beautifully written book I've ever read (and can't see myself reading one that surpasses it for a while), the prose itself is as much a character in the book as any other. The way you can almost open the book to any random page and think you're reading a poetry book is astounding. I found myself having to re-read certain passages because I was too absorbed in the language to actually process what was actually being said - which, most of the time, was something completely in contrast to the words being presented to the reader. 

The main themes throughout the book - besides the obvious pedophilia, are also difficult subjects to tackle: unfair power dynamics, the loss of innocence and youth, obsession, desire, and control. Humbert seeks to control every single aspect of Lolita's life in order to fulfill his own selfish desires. He mixes beautiful language to describe his "love" for her in an attempt to convince the reader to sympathize with him, almost treating the prose itself as a weapon, but in the end, his actions are irredeemable in my opinion. That's where the difficulty of talking about this book lies. The subject matter is an incredibly horrifying, sensitive, subject, but it's written in such a beautiful way that it's hard not to want to keep going. 

Towards the end of the book, there's a scene where the power dynamics reverse between Lolita and Humbert, which made me, for just a second, see a new side of him that had been absent until that point. For the first time, he seemed to show a bit of humanity, which he had been sorely lacking for the whole novel. Acknowledging the damage he did and realizing that he had no one else to blame but himself, not only for his own situation, but the situation that Lolita ended up in as well. It all circled back to him, his selfish desires and actions, that led them to that point. Make no mistake, I know Humbert is an unreliable narrator, and I don't pretend to assume that he actually felt sorry for any of it, but for just a couple of pages, he showed some humanity, and being human is as great as it is sorrowful, the highest highs are only that impactful because there were such low lows that we can compare them to, and I can sympathize experiencing one of those low points. 

The subject matter is hard to get past for some people, and I get that, this book won't be for you. But if you can get past that, you will be in for a ride unlike anything you've probably experienced before, being in the mind of a most heinous person, not wanting to keep going, but not being able to stop either. 

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