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felicia_gardenia 's review for:
First, last, and always, Lolita is my all time favorite book. I wasn't sure I wanted to read this book. Would it somehow taint my feelings about Lolita? Would it ruin everything? The short answer is no and no.
If the thought that Nabokov based his novel on real life events would ruin everything for you, then I guess you wouldn't want to read this. But that's silly, right? Every author writes based on their real life experiences, people they know or have read about, dreams, etc... It's not as though stories just magically appear on the page (aka, screen) in front of them.
I've never read anything about Nabokov (again, didn't want to ruin my feelings about Lolita), but Weinman does a great job of revealing the sort of day to day stuff of Nabokov's life. Who knew he was super interested in butterflies? Funny to learn that he was somewhat similar to good ol' Humbert (not in the pervy way, but in the professor sort of way).
Interspersed with stories of Nabokov and Lolita, is the sad, truly tragic story of Sally Horner's short life. When you hear these details, it's pretty clear that her story inspired Nabokov's Lolita (at least in some part). This doesn't make me love Lolita in any less. Why was it such a big deal for Nabokov and his wife that they had to keep denying it? It doesn't make his novel any less amaze-balls.
Weinman describes aspects of Lolita in a thought provoking way. She articulates what I knew in the back of my mind, but just sort of blithely ignored all these years of reading Lolita. How Nabokov seduces the reader with his words into almost feeling sorry for Humbert - the pervy, selfish, life-ruining pedo! I mean, I admit, I've always felt a little bad for him...he was in LOVE (aka obsessed with) with Lolita and couldn't help it. I've always felt that little Lo was a strong, wily girl who wielded what power she had with a stubborn, desperate tenacity and therefore, she couldn't be permanently "ruined" by Humbert. That's the magic of Nabokov's writing. No matter what, even with an odious topic and even through the lens of today's social/ political climate, nobody in their right mind can deny that Lolita is beautifully written.
Weinman's book kind of peters out towards the end and I was left unsure as to whether I really liked it or just liked it, but in the end I decided I really liked it. She enlightened me about Nabokov and providing insight into Lolita. And she told Sally Horner's story in a factual, non-salacious way.
If the thought that Nabokov based his novel on real life events would ruin everything for you, then I guess you wouldn't want to read this. But that's silly, right? Every author writes based on their real life experiences, people they know or have read about, dreams, etc... It's not as though stories just magically appear on the page (aka, screen) in front of them.
I've never read anything about Nabokov (again, didn't want to ruin my feelings about Lolita), but Weinman does a great job of revealing the sort of day to day stuff of Nabokov's life. Who knew he was super interested in butterflies? Funny to learn that he was somewhat similar to good ol' Humbert (not in the pervy way, but in the professor sort of way).
Interspersed with stories of Nabokov and Lolita, is the sad, truly tragic story of Sally Horner's short life. When you hear these details, it's pretty clear that her story inspired Nabokov's Lolita (at least in some part). This doesn't make me love Lolita in any less. Why was it such a big deal for Nabokov and his wife that they had to keep denying it? It doesn't make his novel any less amaze-balls.
Weinman describes aspects of Lolita in a thought provoking way. She articulates what I knew in the back of my mind, but just sort of blithely ignored all these years of reading Lolita. How Nabokov seduces the reader with his words into almost feeling sorry for Humbert - the pervy, selfish, life-ruining pedo! I mean, I admit, I've always felt a little bad for him...he was in LOVE (aka obsessed with) with Lolita and couldn't help it. I've always felt that little Lo was a strong, wily girl who wielded what power she had with a stubborn, desperate tenacity and therefore, she couldn't be permanently "ruined" by Humbert. That's the magic of Nabokov's writing. No matter what, even with an odious topic and even through the lens of today's social/ political climate, nobody in their right mind can deny that Lolita is beautifully written.
Weinman's book kind of peters out towards the end and I was left unsure as to whether I really liked it or just liked it, but in the end I decided I really liked it. She enlightened me about Nabokov and providing insight into Lolita. And she told Sally Horner's story in a factual, non-salacious way.