Lolita

Rating:
Summary: My first impression of "Lo-li-ta"
Review: I can't deny that this novel is chock full of breathtakingly beautiful lyrical moments.This is my first novel by Nabokov, and it is written with great originality.It's also witty,and sharply observant in it's own poetic way.

Did I love this novel?To be quite honest, no, not really.I did find it greatly enjoyable at times, and completely swallowed the gorgeous language.But I never really cared for these characters;the only thing I did care for was the stunning language. But I should also point out that Nbaokov did bother me at times with his endless and directionless, and needlessly overwrought descrpitions.There were times I would gulp down the book's intricate wordplay, and other times, when I would think, ENOUGH already.I also think I'll have to re-read this book, because I'm sure I'll be able to understand it more given a few years time, and that perhaps I might like it more than I did.

Don't jump into Lolita just because it's known as one of the greatest novels of the century.It's only for patient readers who don't mind sifting through endless descrptions, and aimless wonderings.I wasn't moved or affected by the novel itself, but there were so many breathtaking moments of lyrical beauty that I couldn't help but be stirred by the potency of the language itself.Take the first and last pages of the novel,I mean how beautifully,perfectly written are they?The first and last page are the best pages in this novel, which on its own is complicated,and dense, and rather detached from the reader's emotions.But who knows, maybe after a re-read my opinion will change.

Rating:
Summary: Love, language and Lolita
Review: Nabokov's LOLITA is one of those novels about a forbidden love. This could be THE SCARLET LETTER or MADAME BOVARY or WUTHERING HEIGHTS, but Humbert Humbert finds himself in the throes of an irrational passion that can get him in trouble all the same. Let's not kid ourselves, there is a statutory rape going on here, but there is a passion, too, that leads to murder.

Whatever the moral calculus may be, the point is that Nabokov uses this obsession as a springboard for a language of passion. The whole novel is a kind of excuse for Humbert Humbert to put his love into words. Even the way his adolescent's name is pronounced is cause for study and rapture. "Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth." Humbert's linguistic tour de force is what makes his voice as distinctive as Holden Caulfield's or the unnamed protagonist in Ellison's INVISIBLE MAN or call him "Ishmael". For that reason, among several others, Nabokov's LOLITA takes its place among the best novels of the 20th century and deserves to be read by all who enjoy writing at its most passionate.

Rating:
Summary: As with all other great pieces of literature....
Review: Lolita WAS NOT written with the intent that everybody like it or understand it. That being said I would like to propose that no one else who didn't read the book or discredits it as mere pornography stop writing reviews. You are embarrasing yourself, me, and Nabokov. Also anyone who hasn't read Nabokov's afterword "On A Book Entitled Lolita" should not presupose that they poses some deeper knowledge of the author's intentions without giving the author a chance to explain himself in a fashion that most half-wits would understand (this post kind of feels like trying to teach English to an ape).
That being said, on to my review (as someone who has actually read the book in full). I would quickly like to point out that Nabokov was primarily a poet. Lolita is a novel written as a poet would write a novel. The language is beautiful and intentional. This style is so effective mainly because it is told through the perpective of a clearly sick individual. In this sense it is clear that Lolita is in fact a love story. Whether the reader can justify this love in their own mind is irrelevant. Humbert is in love (albeit a sick love, but love nonetheless) and this is Humbert's story, Humbert's admission, and Humbert's end. The reader is shown only a distorted reality through distorted perceptions and distorted interpretations in a style loosely reminiscent of Faulkner's Benjy character in The Sound And The Fury. However even through these distortions an informed perceptive reader can pick out discrepancies between Humbert's perceptions and reality. I do not wish to go into plot here, but I'm sure educated readers understand the point. Towards this effect Nabokov acheived results of the first order. It is written (both in style and language) masterfully. Indeed, so well that one is shocked to learn that English is neither Nabokov's first or second language (Russian, French). This novel is absolutely one of the five best written in the twentith century, behind only Ulysses, Great Gatsby, perhaps 1984 and The Grapes Of Wrath. You wouldn't even be insane to say Lolita may be the best novel written in the twentieth century.

Rating:
Summary: Amazingly realistic characters
Review: Honestly, I only picked up Lolita because I knew it had been banned at one point, and I was curious about it. That was one of the best decisions I have made at the book store!

"Lolita" was beautifully and compellingly written, and while I see why some refer to it as a 'love story' I felt it was much more than that. I think the reason there was so much controversy with this book is that it dared to portray a child molester as a person, a real person, who had good and bad in them. He was intelligent and well-read, and felt guilty for what he did, but did it anyway. This story allows you to see the man behind the monster, and see the little monsters in the innocent.

I am tempted to say so much more, but I would rather you discover it for yourself. I highly encourage anyone with the slightest interest to read this book. I find it rare for a book to be so eloquently written without confusing the meanings of the story.

(...).

Rating:
Summary: Well written but very disturbing
Review: I don't share the views of many of the reviewers that this is a love story. I couldn't find any redeeming qualities in the main character Humbert Humbert. On the surface masquerades as a misguided intellectual who's fallen in love with a young girl, but underneath he embodies the malicious, cold-blooded, calculating evil that lurks in mankind. I admire Nabokov for his exquisite, painterly writing style, but make no mistake it is a very dark and disturbing book. The physical rape of Lolita pales in comparison to the systematic psychological rape that Hubert inflicts on her through out this story.

Rating:
Summary: Worth the discomfort you'll feel
Review: A disturbing, but eloquently told tale of Humbert Humbert's fascination with nymphets, and his incestuous relationship with the young Dolores Haze, or Lolita.

Rating:
Summary: "I have to do this because I love you."
Review: The greatest "love" story ever? Come on. Pedophelia is about power and control, not "love." This is a great book, but let's not kid ourselves on this one thing.

Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable Experience
Review: I listened to this audio probably about four years ago, but it was such an amazing and glorious experience, I can't forget it. Jeremy Irons is perfect for the role of the protagonist, and the writing of Nabokov is like listening to the most beautiful classical music. I have never enjoyed an audio book more than this one, and I've listened to many over the years. If you have an interest in Nabokov, or even if you don't, you will after this book.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and Poetic
Review: I had tried to read this book before and I had thought it dry but I waited and gived it another go. I had fallen in love with Humbert Humbert's sarcastic and poetic prose.This was beautiful.

Rating:
Summary: Wake Me When It's Over
Review: 1.) I'm bored 2.) He uses too many allusions to other novels, so that if you're not well read, this book makes no sense. 3.) Most American readers are not fluent in French, so to have conversations or interjections in French with no translation, is plain dumb. 4.) Did I mention I was bored? 5.) As with another reviewer, I agree, he uses a lot of huge words that just slow a person down. And it's not for theatrics either, it's just huge words mid-sentence when describing something simple. Nothing in the sense of imagery is gained. 6.) Also, to sum it up, it's a story about a pedophile, whether you interpret it as something else or not, is up to you, but there's the main plot for you. I would not reccomend this book to any of my friends.