Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

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Title: Lolita

Author: Vladimir Nabokov

Genre: Classic Literature

Length: 317 pages

Published: Original: 1955; Version I read: 1989

Publisher: Original: Olympia Press; Version I read: Vintage

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) Awe and exhilaration—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:

I give this book a 3 out of 5. 

I read this book for the first and only time last summer. The name "Lolita" is strewn throughout pop culture, and I'd always wondered about it. They've made a couple of movies based on the novel, but I've never seen them. I will be honest and state that I probably never will, either.
The subject matter disgusted me. I had to read this book in seriously short bursts, practically forcing myself to finish it. It's filled with descriptive prose and, honestly, the main character (and narrator), Humbert Humbert, is a pedophile. He fell in love with the 12 year old daughter of his landlady, married the landlady so he could stay near his "Lolita", and finally, after an accident which kills Lolita's mother, manages to take off on a road trip throughout America with Lolita, posing as her father.

And then they consummate their love. Because, yes, this girl has a crush on him, too, at least at first. Eventually she tires of him and manages to escape his clutches. I cheered when she got away. And yet he continued to prose on about how he much he missed, loved, and desired her. 

Unless you can distance yourself from the truth of Humbert's relationship with Lolita, I don't really recommend picking this up to read.  

You can purchase Lolita through Amazon in either hard copy or Kindle format. 

Have you read Lolita? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.