ISBN-13: 9780679723165Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 1997
317 pgs
From the back cover:
Awe and exhilaration - along with heartbreak and mordant wit - abound in Lolita, Vladimir 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. Most of all, it is a meditation on love - love as outrage and hallucination, madness and transformation.
Narrated by Humbert Humbert, this is a memoir of his obsession and his 'relationship' with a 12-year-old girl, Dolores Haze (Lolita).
Frankly speaking, I was not sure if I wanted to read this book from the beginning, but I read a few reviews from other bookbloggers and thought this would make a good literary read despite the shocking subject. Thus, I picked up this book. So how did I feel after reading it? I was truly taken aback and yet amazed that the author was able to write this sensitive and controversial issue and turned it into a beautiful literary masterpiece.
No matter how disturbing the story is, yet I was taken in by the prose and the language and got sucked into this story. Humbert Humbert is indeed a sick man. I have no other word to describe of him. His motive for marrying Dolores' mother to get closer to the girl further tells how perverted and obsessed he is. But the worse thing is, he does not even feel remorse about everything.
On the other hand, is Dolores as innocent as what the readers think she is? Is she the seducer instead of the seducee? Someone may argue that this could be a true love story if the readers could view it from another angle. Maybe. But still I cannot imagine or accept this 'relationship' because the girl is young enough to be his daughter! I could see no purpose of this storytelling except to admit it is a great literary fiction. Lolita is an unforgettable reading experience for me but this will not stop me from reading the rest of Vladimir Nabokov's books in future.
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