A book that has an absolutely amazing control of pace and character development. Very, very good. Very disturbing

I can't believe Nabokov's mastery of the English language, but I'm grateful for it. Reminded me a bit of reading Poe's stories written by insane men. ( )

I can't believe Nabokov's mastery of the English language, but I'm grateful for it. Reminded me a bit of reading Poe's stories written by insane men. ( )

I can't believe Nabokov's mastery of the English language, but I'm grateful for it. Reminded me a bit of reading Poe's stories written by insane men. ( )

As controversial as this book is, I instantly fell in love with it after the first couple of pages. Even though Humbert is wrong with his adoration of Lolita (according to most people), towards the end I found myself feeling intense sympathy for him. Nabokov has a way with writing with such sexual intensity that sometimes we barely notice that we are being drawn in even more. From what I have read of him, he likes to use that technique in almost all of his works. The movie was quite an interesting one to watch, especially after having read the book. ( )

What a beautiful, haunting tale of perverse love.

Nabakov is able to explore the story of a middle-aged man obsessed with a (pre-) adolescent girl with such power and depth that at times, I had to wonder at the inspiration for it. At the basis, the inspiration can be seen as any love, desire, and obsession for someone outside of your acceptable grasp. I can see the inspiration being that of love that drives you to insanity, which is just about any unreciprocated love. I can see the inspiration being pain, and wanting to come up with a justification for the pain...

Either way, I was both disturbed and enraptured by Nabokov's descriptions of love, and his understanding of what being swept up with someone really entails. The lack of a structured timeline, for one, is a key indicator that this is a true-to-emotion tale. How many of us, who have every really felt a rush of love have any grasp over the days, weeks, and years that surround that object of our desire?

Yes, it is a hard read. Yes, it might be noted only for it's subject matter. Yes, there are reasons to not want to turn another page after some of the descriptions of love and lust in a relationship most all of us will deem unacceptable by any stretch of the imagination. But encompassed in this book, too, are reasons to want to reach the end, to see how HH comes to the end of his story, to see how he deals with the loss of a love and his grace. ( )

I actually liked this a lot more than I thought I would, not because of the aberrant sexuality but the geographical aimlessness of the work which makes it a distinctly American novel in my mind like so many other wandering works (The Road, V, etc...) ( )

I'm not on the Lolita bandwagon folks. The book is overrated and in my opinion only became popular because of the shocking nature of the relationship between a middle-aged man and an adolescent girl. Sure it's a ground-breaking, brutally honest topic, and in many ways the book is more about obsession than statutory rape. I'm open-minded to books that tackle taboo subjects, but I didn't find Lolita well written or interesting.

And, on top of it, Nabokov had the gall to call Dostoevsky mediocre and an inferior artist. Ha! He's a hack in comparison to the great 19th century Russian authors (Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev, Dosotevsky, Chekhov, Tolstoy). Nabokov is not an extension of this great lineage; his only role in this Pantheon would be sweeping the floors.

The 1962 film directed by Stanley Kubrick is better (yes, a rare case where the movie is better than the book). James Mason and Shelley Winters are excellent as Humbert and Charlotte. It's not quite as good as it could have been; Kubrick as always should have edited more out, Sue Lyon as Lolita is a little too understated to avoid the censor, and Peter Sellers is out of control. Hmm, ok ok, I know it's LibraryThing, not FilmThing, sorry. :-) ( )

When I first decided I wanted to read Lolita it was because I wanted to broaden my appreciation of the classics that I was sorely missing. I had a rough idea of what the story line was: I recognized that it concerned a pedophile and a young girl but beyond that I really didn’t know what to expect. I had always assumed that there was a lot of graphic sex in the story. Then again, the book received many good reviews and was generally a four or five star read for other readers. It sat on my nightstand for over a year and when I realized that last week was Banned Book Week, what better time to attempt this classic.

I was very surprised by what unfolded as I read the book. Certainly it involves a pedophile and his experience with young Delores Haze, whom he tenderly calls, Lolita. Absent is the graphic sex I had expected and present is some of the most beautiful writing I have ever had the joy of reading. Nabokov had a gift for language that was stunning to behold. I had only read one other Nabokov novel, the very light-hearted Pnin, which actually was a good springboard for getting into this meatier read.

Of course, the idea of a story about a pedophile is gruesome, but somehow in Nabokov’s hands, the beauty of the language overcomes the disgust of the storyline. You certainly feel sorry for Delores and yearn for her to escape from Humbert Humbert, as they traverse the country in their one year journey (August 1947-August 1948). He was such a complicated character though, that I’m not sure I ever actually despised him, although I disagreed with him on many levels. But the pictures Nabokov drew as the story progressed were just so beautiful and memorable that it’s very difficult to think of not liking the book because of its lewd reputation. It’s so much more than that. Picture this:
“The new and beautiful post office I had just emerged from stood between a dormant movie house and a conspiracy of poplars. The time was 9:00 a.m. mountain time. The street was Main Street. I paced its blue side peering at the opposite one :charming it into beauty, was one of those fragile young summer mornings with flashes of glass here and there and a general air of faltering and almost fainting at the prospect of an intolerably torrid noon.” Page 224

Passages like this are evident throughout the book. Nabokov paints the picture for you to see and all you can say is, “Beautiful.” Highly recommended. ( )

Nabakov is a word wizard and his books a treasure house of delights and surprises. Here, although you couldn't but already know it given just how famous or infamous this book is, you are mindblown by the realisation, as you read, that the protagonist, Humbert Humbert, is a middle aged man infatuated by a prepubescent girl. But this is no voyeuristic titillation, Lolita is a masterpiece of a novel. Only Nabakov can pull off the totally unbelievable coincidence that enables Humbert to take off with Lolita on his trans-American road trip. Indeed, it is a uniquely Nabakovian episode. Keep your eye on Quilty!

This is a fabulous book, read it. ( )

Ah, what can I say? I saw the movies before I ever knew there was a book, and when I find out about the book, I thought by the reviews it would be a most interesting read, and I wasn't wrong.Nabakov's writing is amazing, I did find it at times annoying that entire paragraphs would be in French. Let me explain: I do know some french so that I could understand them without notes or with the aid of them, however, this took me time and drove me out of the depth of immersion I had in the book at reaching such points, and sometimes I had to re-read to realize where I had been left standing before I had to figure out what the hell that sentence said.Despite that, Nabakov's writing was most enjoyable, that it made such annoying points almost unimportant as it was very hard for me to put the book down. I enjoyed the style enough to say I would love to read more by him.As for the content of the book itself, I have always thought the story to be interesting. Maybe not morally correct, maybe not what most people would like to read about, but a reality, and one told so very well that you can't help but enjoy your read, even if you hate Humbert Humbert, even despising what he represents and what he is.I truly enjoyed this book. ( )

Everybody says this is a great wonderful book, but nobody does anything about it! Updike did a fine job with his "The Centaur' and 'The Coup,' but who has worked at that level since? I don't expect them to match the beauty of Nabokov but I could write a better novel than most of today's writers. Who should I read? ( )

One of the world's great books. Those who shun it for its morality miss the sublime moral Nabokov was showing us. ( )

A classic. The language is exquisite. Jeremy Irons as a reader really makes the book come alive. As one would expect, there are parts that are very sensual and erotic, but it is never crass or lewd. At times I got so caught up in the language that I had to remind myself that it was really about the seduction of a 12 year old girl. A beautiful book but not to everyone's taste. ( )

One of the best books of all time. ( )

Literature, but in a good way: Definitely literature, reading this book clears up a number of cultural references. Exciting and fast paced, for the most part, Nobokov artfully addresses the dual perspectives on pedophilia while refraining from the vulgar. The exploration of a troubled mind is reminiscent of Dostoyevsky's "Idiot" and "Crime and Punishment", but set in the familiar culture of America.

"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 down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.
"She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita."

Oh, Lolita. Is there anyone these days who doesn't know the general story? Middle-aged Humbert Humbert becomes obsessed with twelve-year-old Dolores Haze. Thankfully, few literate people disagree with the statement that Lolita is a brilliant work of twentieth-century fiction. I find myself at a loss for words in reviewing this book, if only because I feel like so much has already been said. The language is beautiful and the story is riveting. The repulsion one feels for Humbert's taste is complicated by his deviously charming writing and Lolita's self-awareness. One might find an untrustworthy narrator to be a chore at times, but here, it is nothing short of fascinating.

Above all, what struck me with this reading of Lolita is just how masterful Nabokov's command of the English language really is... I found myself savoring every sentence and looking up the definitions of words of which I knew the meanings... not because I thought I was wrong or that he would be more precise, but that there were certain nuances to be gained. I spent time reflecting on certain details that would crop up (for instance, Humbert's obsessive cataloguing of Lolita's height and weight) or various academic interpretations (the question of this book representing the corruption of young America by old Europe or old Europe's downfall brought about by young America), but really, it's the language that I kept coming back to again and again. Here is a wordsmith, here is a man who knows how to turn a phrase. Breath-taking at every turn.

If you haven't read it yet, I shall not pressure you. There will come a time in your life when you finally feel compelled to pick this up and you'll understand the awesome power of Nabokov's language in painting such an fascinating story. ( )

Lolita, the well-known controversial story of Humbert Humbert's obsessive passion for nymphet Dolores Haze, who quite early on in the story becomes his step-daughter. The book follows his perusal of her and their two road-trips after the death of her mother and before she disappears from Humbert's life.
To be honest, apart from the controversial nature of the story I do not see what all the fuss is about this book. I did not enjoy the writing style nor the story itself (and no it wasn't because I was in uproar about the content!). Had this not been a book on the Yale syllabus I would have put it down ages ago. ( )

At the tender age of sixteen, I tried to read Lolita and had to put it down. Apparently, I was too close to Lolita's age to be able to stomach the story at the time. Later, I read and loved Bend Sinister and Invitation to a Beheading by Nabokov so much that I felt I couldn't put off reading the author's most famous and critically acclaimed novel any longer. Turns out, waiting eight years didn't help all that much: Lolita still grossed me out. But maybe that was Nabokov's goal. The fact that the author manages to illicit the occasional pang of sympathy for a pedophile (even a made-up one) is pretty horrifying, made even more uncomfortable by Humbert's role as the narrator. One moment, you find yourself pitying him and the next he lets you in on some obscene thought that turns you against him again. This novel is certainly not for the faint of heart.

Of course, as usual, Nabokov's style is wonderful. He creates characters so real and complete that you feel that you knew them in real life by the time the book is done. Plus, you get his jaded, sarcastic wit on every page. I only gave it four and a half stars instead of five because the content made it so difficult to get through. I would recommend this novel to anyone who feels they can brave it, but if this is the first of Nabokov's books that you pick up and are put off by the uncomfortable nature of the subject, don't let it be the last one of his that you read. ( )

Lo lee Ta,
lovley ( )

While I recognize Nabokov's genius as a writer, I just couldn't get past the fact that the narrator is a pedophile. I really need to attempt another of his books. ( )

Oh dear. I don't really know what to say about Lolita. Nabokav's utterly creepy and disturbing tale of the relationship between the adult man Humbert Humbert and his love interest, the twelve year old Lolita, is a tale filled obsession, lust, and oddly enough, love. A twisted and distorted form of love, that is.

I quite enjoyed the first hundred or so pages, but after that it got increasingly tedious. I'm glad I've read it though, now I know what all the fuss is about! ( )

Shocking, sad ... obsessive. I guess I shouldn't be shocked; there are numerous stories reported daily on sex offenders. What shocks me I guess is the perspective the story is written from .... in the form of a confession. I try to find sympathy with central characters in most books I read, but with Humbert I had trouble. The way Lolita was manipulated disturbed me, but it seemed she became more impetuous the older she got. Despite the paranoia the Humbert had, and the many cautious ways he tried to keep his secret , exposure turned the crime deadly, and brought the story to a sad end. Valdimir’s style is very poetic and despite the explicit content the descriptive way feelings and scenes are described had me mesmerized. ( )

http://static.librarything.com/pics/s... ( )

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1211940...

It is a fascinating novel, with the narrator appalled and disgusted by his own behaviour, and a series of other memorable characters - the ex-wife; Lolita's mother; the dentist's evil nephew (as played by Peter Sellers to James Mason's Humbert in the flm); and of course Lolita herself, who gains dignity and independence, however briefly, from the terrible situations that older men have inflicted on her. ( )