Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov
Lolita
by Vladimir Nabokov
317 pages (trade paperback)
Genre: Fiction/Literary
So creepy, but also so brilliant--a true masterpiece. Surely everyone knows the basic plot: convicted pedophile "Humbert Humbert" writes his memoir in prison about his obsessive, insane adoration for "Lolita," the "nymphet" Dolores Haze. And if you read Lolita, chances are you will sympathize with Humbert; his voice is weird and real, begging pathetically for forgiveness even as he rationalizes his actions. It scared me, too, because I found myself seeing things in a relative light--relative to Humbert's deeply abiding, yet wrong love. This book will give you a frightening peek into the mind of a pedophile, and make you--or a tiny, traitorous, unethical part of your brain--ask yourself if discrimination against such people is justified, because the stigma bears striking resemblance to homosexual discrimination in years past. (Statutory rape comes to mind...)
Recommended to anyone with the guts to fall into the deep, exhilarating pool that is Lolita. And if you do pick it up, I advise you to skip the (fictitious) Foreword and go back at the end--it will make much more sense.
by Vladimir Nabokov
317 pages (trade paperback)
Genre: Fiction/Literary
So creepy, but also so brilliant--a true masterpiece. Surely everyone knows the basic plot: convicted pedophile "Humbert Humbert" writes his memoir in prison about his obsessive, insane adoration for "Lolita," the "nymphet" Dolores Haze. And if you read Lolita, chances are you will sympathize with Humbert; his voice is weird and real, begging pathetically for forgiveness even as he rationalizes his actions. It scared me, too, because I found myself seeing things in a relative light--relative to Humbert's deeply abiding, yet wrong love. This book will give you a frightening peek into the mind of a pedophile, and make you--or a tiny, traitorous, unethical part of your brain--ask yourself if discrimination against such people is justified, because the stigma bears striking resemblance to homosexual discrimination in years past. (Statutory rape comes to mind...)
Recommended to anyone with the guts to fall into the deep, exhilarating pool that is Lolita. And if you do pick it up, I advise you to skip the (fictitious) Foreword and go back at the end--it will make much more sense.