- This was the first choice for a book club that I joined for the summer.
I also recommend:
- Anything by Kafka
Summary from GoodReads:
Awe and exhiliration–along with heartbreak and mordant wit–abound in Lolita, Nabokov’s most famous and controversial novel, which tells the story of the aging Humbert Humbert’s obsessive, devouring, and doomed passion for the nymphet Dolores Haze. Lolita is also the story of a hypercivilized European colliding with the cheerful barbarism of postwar America. Most of all, it is a meditation on love–love as outrage and hallucination, madness and transformation.
My Review:
This is not a book for the faint of heart. Wow, I don’t even know where to begin with a review on this one.
I was hoping to make the book club discussion centering on this title so I could get my thoughts in order – but alas, life stepped in and I was unable to make it so you all will have to suffer through my trying to get everything straightened out.
Vanity Fair, for its blurb on one edition of this book, says it’s “the only convincing love story of our century,” which, frankly, scares me to death. Why? Because the nitty gritty is that this love story is between an older man and a 12 year old girl.
That’s the surface of the story – but then there’s so much more to it than that. The narrator of this book is filled with so much remorse and justification and self-loathing that it’s nearly impossible to not be captivated by his voice and follow along the story. I was seriously disgusted with myself because, at one point, I was nearly as eager as he was when contemplating murder or scheming to get his way. That scared me – and Freud would have a field day with that (Yes, I read those essays of those Mr. Freud.)
It’s that type of writing, the one that binds and drags you along on a journey you really do not want to go on, that makes for great writing. And Vanity Fair’s blurb? Well, I think in a way it addresses that narrative voice, it’s harsh reality, bitterness and despair. Who can tell the heart where to love, or why it shouldn’t?
This is a tough read for many of those reasons and more. If you attempt it, I recommend you do so with a friend so these are the things you can discuss.
Don’t just take my word for it! Check out what these bloggers say!
Sunday Brunch | Roofbeam Reader| The Mantle
I still have never read Lolita, but I am certain I will someday. Every good review of it pushes me a little closer to opening that book, even though I think the content might make my skin crawl.
SLIGHT SPOILER towards the very end of my comment…
I think your review is fantastic! You capture the two different feelings Humbert’s causes in many readers with the way he relays the story of what he did. I recall feeling both fascination and horror with Humbert.
It’s easy to get caught up in Humbert’s story, I did, and I remember thinking, suddenly, whoa! hold on a minute, this guy doesn’t deserve my sympathy…his behavior is reprehensible and there’s no justification for it. Whether or not he knows this has no impact on Humbert’s behavior or makes more reprehensible but, either way he doesn’t deserves pity and certainly not understanding. I was a little disgusted with myself for even leaning that way however briefly!
I need to read this book again, not for the subject matter so much as for the writing. I’m trying to remember if he purposely becomes a more central figure in her life by marrying her mother…
Great job and I love you recommendation at the end of the post. Great idea!
Exactly – I’m glad I managed to get across that message in the review, because it was so hard to write (and express myself in the correct way!). Like, how do you explain giving this book a 4 or 5 star rating without making it seem as if you condone the message inside? So hard!
This novel has been on my to-read list for ages, and your review makes me even more intrigued. Great review! I especially love what you said about “hypercivilized European colliding with the cheerful barbarism of postwar America.”
Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’ve read that this is a love story about America and that Lolita is America and Humbert is old Europe. But, I don’t really know. I’ve read it and loved it even though it creeped me out. I think it’s a book everyone should read but have a hard time recommending it.
Exactly! It’s such a hard place to be when it comes to a “classic”