“Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov, 1955
Lolita, one of the best known and most controversial
examples of 20th century literature, tells the story of an aging man, Humbert
Humbert’s obsessive and doomed passion for the minor Dolores Haze (Lolita).
Dolores, a twelve year old girl, lives with her widowed
mother Charlotte who runs a boarding house to support the both of them.
Humbert, who has an unhealthy interest in young girls, becomes a boarder and
immediately becomes smitten with Dolores. Humbert marries Charlotte in order to
stay close to Dolores. When Charlotte discovers Humbert’s dark secret, she runs
out of the house in haste and is killed by car, leaving Humbert to raise
Dolores by himself.
The incestuous relationship between stepfather and
stepdaughter is exposed with beautiful style, prose, and clever linguistic word
play that the reader is seduced into reading further regardless of the shocking
content and renders this dark tale into an enchanting form.
I would unquestionably recommend this book to bookworms and
non-bookworms alike. The overall darkly comic tone and alternating bemused
weariness with sweeping romanticism elicited more than a few chuckles out of me
at moments generally where sympathy for the victim should be regarded. One will learn, if for anything else, the
origin of how the name “Lolita” has entered pop culture to describe a sexually
precocious girl.
My rating: ★★★★★ (5 out of 5 stars)
"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins.My sin, my soul. Lo-Lee-Ta.The tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps..."
ReplyDeleteThis is a gem of a book.
I read it once, and I am reading it again. Somehow the book has managed to become even more beautiful and entertaining.
An absolute must-read to anyone who loves reading.
Despite the controversial subject matter of the novel, Lolita is a comedy, and simply, a joy to read.