Lolita is a narrative that permeates pop culture, in advertisements, references and romanticizing of things that are not okay. This narrative probably originates from the 1997 film adaptation starring Jeremy Irons:
When I was a teenager this novel was a way to live out my own sexuality and confused feelings about adults around me. These adults were mostly male teachers making Humbert Humbert the perfect stand-in. However engaging with this story as an adult is a bit different. It’s gross you guys.
Lolita is the story of a man who abducts a child and then repeatedly rapes her while calling it love.
“You see, I loved her. It was love at first sight, at last sight, at ever and ever sight.”
Okay, Humbs. Let me level with ya. Rule number one of loving people is like, don’t rape them. Rule number two is don’t abduct them and isolate them from like everything they know. Come on Humbs Humbs. T’aint that difficult.
Anyways, besides the whole adult-man-rapes-child-and-calls-it-love thing, Lolita is a joy to read. Humbert Humbert is never a hero, he is very obviously an unreliable narrator and often times as a reader you are able to witness how strong Lolita is during all of this. She orchestrates her own escape and succeeds. She builds her life as best she knows how and she leaves poor Humbs Humbs totally devestated.
“Life is short. From here to that old car you know so well there is a stretch of twenty, twenty-five paces. It is a very short walk. Make those twenty-five steps. Now. Right now. Come just as you are. And we shall live happily ever after. ”
There is no love or admiration for Humpsy in this book, yet Nabokov is such a great writer that when Humbsy Humbs says goodbye to Lolita and she, smiling, tells him no, I felt both his sadness and hers. Nabokov says in the afterword that he doesn’t really know what Lolita is about but he wrote it as a love letter to the English language. And damn, son, shit’s tight yo.
10/10 would read again.
A good palate cleanser for this book is The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald, about small English fishing village bookstore ordering too many copies of Lolita in like 1960.
Oh that one’s been on my amazon wish list for ages. I might just have to take the plunge <3
I tried reading this last year and…..just no. I couldn’t.
Maybe it’s a failing of mine, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to read this book.
Tbh there’s not much description of the actual rape. There’s much more where we can see her emotional trauma, which is not necessarily easier. However there is also mystery and suspense in it. Albeit all of it is very twisted because you never quite have anyone to root for.
If you want to feel even more gross, try Tampa by Alissa Nutting. HOO BOY.
Thanks but… No thanks ?
This is one of my favorite books. I fucking love it and reread it every few years. What makes Nabakov amazing is that his portrayal of Humbert Humbert is so… empathetic. It’s not sympathetic — it’s pretty clear that he’s a pedophile and a monster — but it’s Nabakov’s writing that grips you into sort of understanding where that comes from, and how mutated his love for Delores is. I fucking love this book.
Same!
Lolita was the book in the very first Pajiba Book Club back in 2010. I would never have read it otherwise. The tension of that stunningly beautiful language about a subject that is decidedly not is memorable.
If archive.org cooperates, you can see the original discussion from Feb 2010, with pre-Disqus comments!
I’ve got links to all the old discussions on our Book Club page if you want to immerse yourself in Eloquent Eloquence of old.
Just went back and skimmed the Lolita discussion, and I sure do miss those days! Thanks for posting the link @MsWas!
Lolita is one of my favorite books of all time and now I may just have to go read it again.
I saw you on there Mrs. Smith – what a blast from the past, right?
Oh that was fun – thank you <3