Lolita

Rating:
Summary: Astonishing, Heartbreaking, Eloquent - and Evil.
Review: Nabokov's Lolita may be the only major novel of this century that will probably never cease to be controversial. Morals dim, taboos are loosened, but it seems unlikely that this fictional memoir of a pedophile and murderer will ever be 'acceptable' as Joyce and Miller have come to be. But don't let that keep you away from this novel, unless you're easily offended by the subject. Even then, you might want to give it a try.

It's not a work of pornography,nor a straight confessional work. It is a rhapsody in an adopted language; it is an ode to strange, impossible, even disgusting love; it is the greatest tour-de-force any writer since James Joyce has ever pulled off. The text is lovingly, obsessively, horrifically written as a morass of details and metaphors sinking toward a great forbidden subject; the subject is a pre-adolescent 'nymphet,' the hero is insane and twisted, as well as the only real, likable person in the book.

Nabokov's narrator, Humbert Humbert, is a sardonic, cool European (exact origin unknown) who comes to postwar America in the late 1940s, having grown weary of the Old World with its anachronistic, worn-out ways, and sad associations with his past. In particular, there was a girl he knew, a beautiful young nymphet called Annabel, that he met and fell in love with as an adolescent. She was dead a few months later, and she stayed there in Humbert's mind - he spent the rest of his life searching for her, obsessing over her, despairing that he could never have her. Then he spots Dolores Haze, 11 years old, called 'Lolita,' sunning herself as she bops to the radio on the lawn - the typical American girl. She's shallow, whiny and self-absorbed. And, as Humbert sees it, the reincarnation of his lost Lenore - er, Annabel.

So we follow Humbert as his passion, and his madness, consumes him: he marries Lolita's obnoxious mother to be near her, hoping against all reason for a chance to seduce her, and after a fortuitous accident rids him of Charlotte Haze, he takes Lolita off on an endless ride across the American landscape, after she unexpectedly seduces him in a hotel. It's no wild and boisterous Kerouacian road trip; Humbert vividly describes the tedium and ordinariness of American road life - highways, hotels, and hot weather. Then boredom turns to paranoia as Lolita grows weary of his company, and he begins to feel a dark shadow tracing his every step. He knows there is someone following him, very much like him, and desiring Lolita as he did before he had her. By the time his pursuer spirits the willing Lolita away from her hospital bed after she is separated from Humbert's side by a brief malady, he seems almost to have accepted that it will happen, and that he has lost her forever - but he never stops trying to get her back, pursuing his invisible quarry for months, taunted by his evil double's punning false names left in hotel registers. Years later, he finally gets his revenge: not on Lolita, who ends up in a pretty sad position, but on her 'kidnapper' and his mortal opponent, the mysterious Clair Quilty. As he awaits trial in prison, he writes his memoirs, believing that somehow he can make sense of his story only by telling it to others, that they may understand how hypnotized and tortured he was by his 'victim,' and not the other way round.

Nabokov clearly wasn't out to make us sympathize with the desires and motives of a pedophile; indeed, he wants us to feel revulsion at HH's thoughts, however beautifully expressed they are. It sets us up for some dazzling irony: Humbert is both a sympathetic outcast and a menacing predator; almost every other character is portrayed in such a way that he looks attractive and charming by comparison. That is not only the way Humbert sees himself, but the way others see him: as the fictional 'editor' of the novel writes in the introduction, his very charm and wit make us uneasy: this is the disguise of a monster whose real-life counterparts could be, and are, all around us.

Lolita is great literature; it is heartbreaking drama, not because of what happens, but how it happens, and how we are told about it. It is a masterpiece of melancholy; it is evil incarnate. It is, it is.

Rating:
Summary: LoHum, an incredible story of love and life...
Review: After hearing so much (too much) about this book, I thought it could never live up to it all. But how drastically wrong I was! I don't know that I've ever read a book and learned so many of life's lessons from it. Nabokov demonstrates love, jealousy, spite, and forgiving; as well as how easy it is for us to overlook these feelings. The language of the book is remarkable, and though I believe I was on to some of Nabokov's writing ironies, I assume at least as many slipped right past me!

This is truly a great love story, regardless of the implications of the two lovers, and a wonderfully written book. I'll soon be searching out another work by Vladimir Nabokov!

Rating:
Summary: Literary Masterpiece
Review: LOLITA, despite its horrific subject matter is an extremely well-written book. Its diversified tones make it a captivating and thoroughly interesting read. The narrative style is easy to grasp and since it follows the rhythm and pace of one's train of thought. However, it this case, it is the thought process of a mentally imbalanced, twisted but intelligent, pedophile with a sense of humor.

The manner in which the book was written, combining the tones of tragic seriousness and blatant humor, makes the reading bearable considering the nature of the subject matter. And, it is this stark contrast in tones that makes the book that much more poignant -- that Humbert, or anyone else for that matter, could maintain and use his sense of humor while discussing pedophilia is nothing short of amazing. His personality makes him likeable while his actions make him the subject of utmost despise. Humbert's appealing personality is even disturbing because any normal person wouldn't want to have anything whatsoever in common with a disgusting person like him.

The humorous quality of the novel, when brought to the forefront, quickly subsides with the knowledge of the sick and immoral thoughts and acts of the narrator constantly looming in the back of the reader's mind. The humor and light moments serve as buffers between those that are absolutely and utterly repulsive.

Humbert, throughout his analytical way of discussing various situations, seems to be trying to convey that he is normal and prove to the reader, and society on the whole, that there is nothing wrong with what he is doing. However, at times he seems more intent and desperate to prove to himself that he isn't doing anything wrong. He puts forth "good intentions" as well as the practices of other cultures as a defense, knowing that society would disapprove of his actions. There is a constant shifting between the reality of the situation and what he believes that it is. This psycho-analytical style is both provocative and disturbing.

From the beginning, Humbert idealizes Lolita, making her out to be something she is not. As the story progresses, he becomes more aware of who she is while she continues to grow up. It is always in Humbert's mind that they are close; in reality, they are, and have always been, in two completely different spheres.

Rating:
Summary: An extraordinary literary achievement beyond comparison.
Review: One of the most amazingly evocative and entertaining novels ever written, Nabokov's Lolita, as sensitively read by Jeremy Irons, is an extraordinary literary achievement beyond comparison. To hear this masterful actor breathe even more life into this essential reading experience...well, it is a pleasure and a privilege. Driving with my tape player on has never been so enriching. Irons captures every emotion in this sad, sensual, and--yes--funny book. If you could only have one audio-book in your library, I could not more highly recommend this one. The film versions are both very special experiences, but no other medium contains every remarkable word of the towering book besides this stunning tape. You will want to play it again and again.

Rating:
Summary: Lo ... the golden sun rises and sets at your whim
Review: The beauty in this novel ... is how we are thrust into H.H.'s mind ... through Nabokov's prose and style ... I felt as though H.H. possessed me ... His senses were mine ... Pure Love and passion ... Life for what it should be ... and the Insanity that comes from the realization of the way life is ...

Rating:
Summary: More than deserving of the 100 Modern Library list.
Review: Lolita is easily one of the finest novels written in the 20th century. It did not bore me to see the movie first. After reading the book, you are able to see the to the mind of Humbert Humbert and not just look upon him as a pervert. It has lots of "dry" humor (which is not well presented in the movie)... the times he makes fun of his name and his European descent. The 1998 Lolita movie's Quilty scenes are some of the best that I have ever seen on the screen.

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Summary: English language at its most beautiful
Review: The lyrical, aesthetic prose of Nabokov is more than enough to overlook the book's horrendous topic and its monster/protagonist. In narrating the thoughts and passions of HH, Nabokov gives us a view of love, lust and monstruosity that is unforgettable. If only Dolores had kept a journal, all along I wondered what she was *really* thinking.

Rating:
Summary: ....
Review: Lolita gives off the feel of the most lovingly crafted book ever written, and the subject matter to which it serves creates a great irony, the author's passion for the English language is spilled over every perfectly crafted phrase and character...About as thrilling a read as one can get.

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Summary: History's master of prose creates a novel of wonder
Review: Nobokov's prose redefines the limits of authorship while creating a masterful novel of the Old World clashing with the New World of American savagery. The conflict between a matured and cultured Humbert Humbert and the immature ignorant Lolita is evident. The latter is drawn to the entertainment/consumer world of post-WWII America while the former is wed to the Old World genius. Humbert's love for Lolita manifests the latent meaning of culture/time conflicts. Perhaps Toynbee was just in saying that all that Europe can hope for is to civilize the brutish but mighty Americans as the Greeks did to the conquering Romans. Nobokov depicts this concept through a pedophilic love story, yet no graphic descriptions are given, only flirted with. The novel is hardly of grotesque nature and is surely not intended to be. In fact, the author skillfully creates a hypnotic story, complete with Dickins-style plot twists and Kerouac-style honesty, in the greatest prose of the century.

Rating:
Summary: Lo - Li - Ta
Review: Line-for-line, certainly one of the greatest books ever published