Lolita, the first in an occasional series of literary posts..

[shreena]

I think Lolita may have been the first novel that totally and utterly blew me away.  Obviously, before I read it, I’d read many other novels that I’d enjoyed and liked and I even had novels that I’d reread to pieces.  But Lolita was something else.  Every time I reread, I find more to think about but what I think the novel is really about, above

Comments

[atreic]

Thank you!

[shreena]

What did you make of the novel?

[afro76]

Yes! That's the essence of Nabokov's genius in this novel: making the reader sympathise with Humbert/adopt his perspective even though he's the "bad guy". Lolita is, as you so rightly say, playing with her emerging sexuality, as all young girls do, and it's so easy to see how Humbert gets sucked in to it all. People who are shocked by the novel miss the point, I think. People's capacity for self-deception is infinite and conventional moral compasses are all but useless when faced with such depth of emotion.

[cartesiandaemon]

I haven't read it, but that was really interesting, please continue to post literary thoughts on your lj :)

[blue_mai]

thanks that was interesting. please post more thoughts. you said to comment if friending so i am, even though i'm pretty sure you know who i am. i've been rather impressed with your clarity of writing when commenting on other people's blogs so i thought i would add you, although it's taken a while...