A review by madelinequinne
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

challenging dark sad 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

4.0

This is the first classic i’ve ever read the whole way through, and I’m very glad I did after hearing praise and criticism about it for years and years. It’s beautifully horrific, filled with scenes that make your stomach turn and language akin to poetry. Nabakov succeeds with creating an unreliable narrator that you almost begin to sympathise with before remembering the horrors he acted on throughout the novel. 

I first heard about this book from the many references in the coquette community and within Lana Del Rey’s music, and I think the way it is portrayed within these things is very untrue to what the actual novel is about. This is a horror story, not a love story, and I’m grateful that I read this for myself so I could see how misunderstood and misrepresented this book is within these communities. I highly recommend people read this for themselves and take what people apart of ‘aesthetic’ communities say with a pinch of salt, because this is not the romance they make it out to be. it’s abuse, fullstop. 

Overall I think this is a very important novel and definitely deserving of its classic status.
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