Lolita

Rating:
Summary: Sad,Sad,Sad
Review: Lolita is one of the saddest books i've ever read.It gives you the point of view of a self pityng self justifying self centered paedophile, who ruins every human being he meets.Blasè, presumptuous and oblivious of any feelings and needs other than his own, Humbert Humbert exploits the naive love of the poor Charlotte to gain proximity to her hapless daughter,Lolita. Humbert's a monster of possessivism, at his most revolting when, having told poor Lolita that her mother is dead, he gloats over the fact that she had no-one else to rely on than him. Eventually she escapes, but not to better life,sadly. Good grief,what depressing story, and this monster Humbert is one of the most hateful sad bastards of literature. Erotic? This book can make an ascete out of you.

Rating:
Summary: The greatest American love story
Review: "You chump," she said, sweetly smiling at me. "You revolting creature. I was a daisy-fresh girl, and look what you've done to me. I ought to call the police and tell them you raped me. Oh, you dirty, dirty old man."

-- Thus the relationship between Dolores "Lolita" Haze, 12-year-old American vixen, and her stepfather/guardian/seducer/lover Humbert Humbert, writer, teacher, Parisian immigrant who embarks with her on a journey into the heartland of America and the sexual unknown. An intriguing premise for a novel, to say the least, and one that has the potential for almost Oedipal levels of Greek tragedy; but "Lolita" is woven from completely original cloth -- provocative, funny, suspenseful, playful; a Russian novelist's celebration of the expanse of the English languague.

The novel is narrated in the first person by Humbert in a tone that deftly alternates between pedantic conceit and heartbreaking wistfulness. It appears that he either has been or will be convicted of a capital crime and is addressing both the interested reader and his lost Lolita, who he knows will never read it. He traces his attraction to "nymphets," pre-teen girls with the uncommon libido to enchant older men, back to his first puppy love, Annabel, who died tragically young. Since then, girls of Annabel's age have become his ideal of femininity and sexuality.

After an unsuccessful marriage, Humbert moves to New York to work for his uncle's business and remains on the prowl for nymphets. A sojourn in New England brings him luck: The house he is staying in, owned by a harpy-like widow named Charlotte Haze, contains the nymphet of his dreams, Charlotte's daughter Dolores (Lolita). The attraction is mutual, unbeknownst to Mrs. Haze, who has her own eye on Humbert and a jealous, contentious attitude towards her daughter. Mrs. Haze sends Lolita to summer camp and proposes marriage to Humbert, who accepts because it will keep him close to Lolita.

Mrs. Haze soon dies -- never mind how for now -- leaving Humbert free to take his "hot downy darling" Lolita with him all over the country in Mrs. Haze's car, "Melmoth" (as in the Wanderer). Their road trips are a tour through kitschy postwar Americana, while Humbert and Lolita consummate their love in various motel rooms. They rent a house in a (different) New England town so Lolita can attend a private school, but eventually they hit the road again, this time pursued by a mysterious fellow in a red convertible -- a detective, or someone with a more sinister motive regarding Lolita? Humbert's passion for her is so strong, so possessive, that any interference in their relationship could drive him to criminal acts of desperation.

Nabokov understands, better than most writers, what makes fiction fun, and he employs the right devices to secure the reader's interest. For example, Nabokov is arguably the master of the art of foreshadowing; attentive readers will be able to connect current events to previous clues as the story continues to unfold. A perverse but strangely personable narrator, a love story that raises eyebrows and avoids nauseating cliches, and imaginatively florid prose make "Lolita" an essential reading experience.

Rating:
Summary: Thoughts on Lolita
Review: Lolita is one of the most controversial, and yet most eloquently written stories of our time. Within its pages, the reader learns of H.H.'s obsession with his young step-daughter, and rides the emotional rollercoaster of H.H.'s desires. While Nabokov himself states that there is within Lolita "...no moral tow", one cannot help but feel as though a moral lesson has been taught. Nabokov's work is a story that can be related to in the sense that it describes so perfectly something that even when possessed, is still unattainable. Nabakov writes this book with an inherent psychoanalysis of the doomed H.H. within. After reading this captivating story, the reader has to ask himself if he [the reader] personally believes that the antagonist in this book is H.H., who takes the childhood from this girl of twelve, Quilty, who takes this child from H.H. and causes a few years of hellish regrets for H.H., or if the true antagonist is Lolita herself. One of the quirks about Nabakov and his style of writing is that he puts meaning into even the smallest of details. For instance, the name Delores, Lolita's legal name, is of Spanish origin and is taken to mean "Lady of Sorrows". Was H.H.'s sorrows caused by Lolita, or did they go back further, to his childhood, when he lost his first love, Annabel? Annabel is a key point in the novel, because H.H.'s pedophilic desires seem to be a result of him trying to find a girl like the one he lost when he was fifteen. Because of the book's controversy, eloquence, and because of the style with which Nabokov writes, Lolita will forever remain a classic in the literary world.

Rating:
Summary: I'm rating the writing, not the main characters
Review: I guess if a book can get so under your skin that you feel nauseated, then it's a powerful book. I did not want to finish this book. In fact, I think it took me at least three tries to actually finish it. The story is disgusting, sick, perverse, but I suppose it's also honest from the point of view of a sick man. I don't want to give this book five stars (because my stomach's upset just thinking about it), but I feel compelled. I can't help but wonder how Nabokov could come up with such a convincing voice for Humbert?!

Rating:
Summary: One of the most disgusting and beautiful books ever.
Review: Although the book is about a grown man madly in love with a young girl, it is beautiful. I am not going to lie to you, parts of the book are very hard to read, and I find it hard to believe that it was published in 1955, if it was published yesterday I believe it would stir up plenty of controversy. I almost stopped reading the book after I finished reading up to Part Two, but I convinced myself to continue, it would not be in print after so many years if it were a truly nasty book. I don't think that Vladimir Nabokov could have defined love as well if he did not have all the disturbing things in the book, I have read many other love stories that have been called, "classics" that have not convinced me that love was true as much as this novel. The main character in the book loves Lolita, or Dolores (her real name) more than anything else in the world, and we see it with his brilliant prose and description. The love that he has for her is unbelievable, as I was reading the book I looked at it more as passion rather that love, but nearing the end of the novel I saw the extreme love. The book had such a huge affect on me, unlike any other book, I am a young person, I have never experienced, "love" and for a while I stopped believing in it. I thought, how could such a thing exist, now I see how wrong I was, this book has changed my life, in more ways than one.
The main character, even though he is a very disgusting man, is and will remain a hero to me, because of his love for Lolita, Humbert Humbert knew what love was, and he showed it to us in this book. Please do not mis-understand me, I am certainly not saying that it is perfectly alright for a grown man to go around chasing young girls, that is not at all what I am saying. I am saying that this is the only way that Nabokov could make such an impact on our lives. A normal love story cannot, in anyway match this. No one can tell me that they have read in a book more love than they read in this one, not even Romeo and Juliet describes love as well as this novel folks, so please pick up the book. When you read the book you will see how beautiful it is.

Rating:
Summary: Some of the most beautiful writing in the entire language
Review: "Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins..."

Lolita is a complex book. It's one of those books that just SEEMS to have a moral, but you can't quite put your finger on what it is. You'll read the book, love it, admire it - but you'll find yourself asking, What is the point? What is the theme? What was the author trying to say? Why did he write it?

The author himself addresses these issues in the shockingly blunt and honest afterward, in which he says that Lolita has "no moral in tow", and that art, for him, exists only so far as to afford him what he may bluntly "call aesthetic bliss." This is one of the novels that you should read for the sheer pleasure of reading. And to be sure, it contains some of the most amazingly beautiful prose I have ever read in my life. I've never come across another book in the English language with such beautiful, complex, heighty prose as this one has. Nabokov himself describes the book - again, in the afterword - as his "love affair with the English language", not as any kind of moral or ethical book. And you can certainly see his point.

This is one of those books that you absolutely should read - and that you will enjoy - but is nevertheless probably not what you expected it to be. Most people - myself included - probably approach Lolita as a story of sexual obsession, or as a book of moral warning. And, indeed, it is perhaps all of these things - and more - but the book is worth reading alone for its sheer beauty. There are very books that you can say this about - how many books would you reccommend to someone just because the prose and words used within are so beautiful that they are a sheer joy to read? Not many, for sure, but this is one of them.

An essential read.

Rating:
Summary: Lo-Li-Ta
Review: The first time I read Lolita I was bored to death. I didnt understand a word of it and couldn think why there had been so much noise about it. I was young (13).
I read after, probably because something stood behind. Humbert is amazing, What a character. Lolita stands always as something luminous but undiscovered. What we get is a complete tour around a brilliant and outstanding mind in a marellous style" Lolita luz de mi vida, fuego de mis entrañas"
Are Humbret and Dequincy the same character?, are we just going around and around?

Rating:
Summary: Literary Beauty
Review: If you read Lolita looking for smut or porn, go elsewhere. This was beautifully written and focused on the main character, H.H., as he tried to justify his crimes and place blame on Lolita, who was merely a girl with a crush who, by the end, became the victim. Nabokov writes exquisitely, and there is no gratuitous sex scenes. The only scenes where sex is even mentioned is where it is essential to the plot.

Lolita is a gorgeous story, and I recommend it to more mature readers who aren't narrow minded. Keep in mind that it's literature, not vulgarity, and also remember that it was written as a comedy, which by no means excuses the main character's perverted actions but makes it much easier to take. Lolita is for people who are willing to think while they read!

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Rating:
Summary: Passionate and Addictive
Review: It was the subject matter that attracted me to this book but it was the artistic beauty of Nabakov's words that made me read it a second time. Lolita is truely a work of art, I found myself going back and reading cirtain lines many times over because the feelings had by Humbert were so well expressed. You really feel the passion that this poor pathetic man felt and actually sympathise with him and transform the phrase "serious crime" into "supposed crime".

...

Rating:
Summary: Masterful Wordplay
Review: Unfortunately, many people do not understand this book at all, including Vanity Fair in saying that it is, "the most convincing love story of this century." That is rubbish.

Nabakov was rebelling against the cannon, making people wonder about what art really is. Before his time, the cannon was comprised of moral and didactic tales. Opposed to this, Nabakov decided to write Lolita, a book that challenges the way one reads. You must question everything that Humbert Humbert tells you, as well as John Ray J.R. The reader must learn to think for him/herself instead of relying solely on the characters for every detail. Its fantastic wordplay is unrivaled, and it flows like poetry. Lolita is not a love story, a moral story, or anything of the sort. It is a literary masterpiece for its words, for its story means nothing. Everyone should read this book. But, don't try to extract morals from it. You won't find any.