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Lolita

Vladimir Nabokov

Start date: March 1, 2023

Finish date: March 31, 2023

Discussion: Lesser Know/Wilderness Classics

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What Members Thought

Mar 07, 2014 Nadine rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ebooks-2014, read-in-2014, favorites, group-reads, stand-alones, road-trip

German review (english review further down):
Humpert, der pädophile Ich-Erzähler befriedigt seine Triebe, indem er aus der Ferne junge Mädchen (Nymphets, oder im deutschen Nymphchen genannt) beobachtet und gelegentlich junge Prostituierte aufsucht. Nachdem seine Ehe gescheitert ist, wird er Untermieter einer alleinerziehenden Mutter, allein auf Grund der Tochter Lolita, die genau seinem Ideal entspricht. Schließlich heiratet er die Mutter sogar, um in der Nähe der Tochter zu bleiben. Als die Mutt German review (english review further down):
Humpert, der pädophile Ich-Erzähler befriedigt seine Triebe, indem er aus der Ferne junge Mädchen (Nymphets, oder im deutschen Nymphchen genannt) beobachtet und gelegentlich junge Prostituierte aufsucht. Nachdem seine Ehe gescheitert ist, wird er Untermieter einer alleinerziehenden Mutter, allein auf Grund der Tochter Lolita, die genau seinem Ideal entspricht. Schließlich heiratet er die Mutter sogar, um in der Nähe der Tochter zu bleiben. Als die Mutter jedoch plant, Lolita auf ein Internat zu schicken, beginnt er finstere Pläne zu schmieden...

Mindfuck. Der englische Ausdruck trifft die Wirkung des Romans auf mich perfekt.
Ich habe mich allzu oft von den wunderbaren Formulierungen, Wortspielen, Euphemismen des Erzählers einlullen lassen und bin dann immer wieder hoch geschreckt, wenn auf diese Weise (oft zwischen den Zeilen) abartige, perverse Momente beschrieben wurden. Sex mit der 12-jährigen Stieftochter, das ist jenseits jeder Grauzone, sich von ihr befummeln lassen, während er Schulkinder beim Verlassen der Schule beobachtet, ist nur krank. Und trotzdem war mir Humbert bei weitem nicht so unsympathisch, wie er hätte sein sollen. Wenn er mit Selbstironie und Wortwitz seine Eskapaden beschreibt, musste ich oft schmunzeln und die sprachliche Eleganz überdeckt nur allzu oft den widerlichen Inhalt.
So wie er Lolita manipuliert, ihr Geschenke macht, ihr Zuneigung schenkt, wenn sie bei seinen perversen Spielen mitmacht, fühle ich mich in gewisser Weise auch als Leser manipuliert, Selbstironie, Charme und poetische Sprache brachten mich immer wieder dazu, seine Perversionen (oder vielmehr die Umsetzung derselben in die Tat) ETWAS milder zu beurteilen.
Bis zum Ende gibt es Wendungen, die erschrecken und traurig machen.
Humpert ist ein grandioser (Anti-)Held, seine Sicht auf die Geschehnisse ist alles andere als objektiv und es wird immer wieder deutlich, wie wenig sein Verhalten mit „Liebe“ zu tun hat und doch fühlt man mit seiner Verzweiflung mit.
Lolita war ebenfalls ein wunderbarer Charakter, auf ihre Weise arrangiert sie sich mit der Situation und zieht aus ihr Stärke. Sie lernt, die Machtbalance zu ihren Gunsten zu verschieben und verfolgt ihre eigenen Ziele.
Die Lektüre des Romans ist eine Achterbahnfahrt: Atemberaubende Sprache, die einen oft innehalten lässt, herrliche Seitenhiebe auf die amerikanische Kultur, Charaktere, die man zugleich liebt und hasst, eine Geschichte, die einem oft den Magen umdreht, die Selbstironie, mit der sich der Erzähler zuweilen selbst betrachtet... Absolute Leseempfehlung!

English review:
Humpert, the pedophile narrator satisfies his urges by watching young girls, which he calls nymphets and occassionally visits young prostitutes. After his marriage falls apart, he becomes the lodger of a single mother solely because of her daughter Lolita, who represents his ideal of a nymphet. Finally he even marries the mother to stay close to the daughter. But when the mother plans to send Lolita to a boarding school, he starts to cook up sinister plans...

Mindfuck. This expression fits the effect the novel had on me perfectly.
Way to often I let the wonderful phrases, play of words, euphemisms of the narrator charm me, only to be startled again, when in this beautiful way (often enough between the lines) perverted and sick moments were being described. Sex with the 12 year old stepdaughter is beyond any greyzone, letting himself be sexually touched by her while watching school girls leave school, is simply sick. And yet Humbert wasn't as dislikeable, as he should have been. When he describes his escapades with self-mockery and wordplay, I often had to smile and the elegance of the language often covers the disgusting content.
Just like he manipulates Lolita, makes her presents, grants her affection if she plays along with his sick games, I felt manipulated as well in a way. Self mockery, charme and peotical language brought me again and again to the point of judging his perversions (or rather putting them into practice) a LITTLE bit more forgivingly.
Up to the end there are twists and turns that shock and sadden.
Humbert is a great (anti-)hero, his point of view on the events is anything but neutral and it gets clear again and again how little his behaviour has to do with „love“ and yet I felt sympathetic to his torment and desperation.
Lolita was a wonderful character as well, she comes to terms with the situation in her own way and draws strength from it. She learns to shift the power balance in her favour and has her own agenda.
Reading this novel was a rollercoaster ride: breathtaking language, which often made me pause for a moment, great side blows on the american culture from an European point of view, characters I loved and hated at once, a story which turned my stomach a couple of times, the self-mockery with which the narrator look upon himself at times... definetely a recommendation! ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Jul 29, 2011 Yair Ben-Zvi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

It's rare to read a book so substantive, so filled to bursting with good, with bad, with abstract and solid ideas, beautiful and horrid details and images described that can make a person weep with sorrow, disgust and even joy. Nabokov has created something simple at times, even boring (i won't lie the book drags at several stretches) and almost viciously moving at other times. Humbert Humbert has to be one of the most fleshed out and nuanced protagonists of any story I've read, leave it to Nabo ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Feb 05, 2015 GONZA rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: re-read

La prima volta che l'ho letto non mi ha disturbato tanto quanto questa, forse perché non ero ancora diventata mamma. Stavolta arrivare in fondo mi é costato molto di piú, nonostante sia scritto in modo eccezionale. La storia si conosce, ma sarebbe il caso di fare piú attenzione alle descrizioni delle sensazioni, degli stati d'animo e anche dei luoghi, perché Nabakov é stato uno dei migliori scrittori del mondo e credo lo rimarrá per sempre. Lolita, luce della mia vita, fuoco dei miei lombi. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

May 08, 2014 Suzan (Suus Leest) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

From my blog athousandwhirlingdreams.blogspot.com

4.5/5

"Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged, fastidious college professor. He also likes little girls. And none more so than Lolita, whom he'll do anything to possess. Is he in love or insane? A silver-tongued poet or a pervert? A tortured soul or a monster? ...Or is he all of these?"

Now, I do not feel like I should be saying too much about this novel, because so much has already been written, but I do want to get some things off my chest.

I had, as From my blog athousandwhirlingdreams.blogspot.com

4.5/5

"Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged, fastidious college professor. He also likes little girls. And none more so than Lolita, whom he'll do anything to possess. Is he in love or insane? A silver-tongued poet or a pervert? A tortured soul or a monster? ...Or is he all of these?"

Now, I do not feel like I should be saying too much about this novel, because so much has already been written, but I do want to get some things off my chest.

I had, as I assume most people do throughout their lifetime, heard many things about this novel. I had heard it was brilliant, but more prominently, I had heard people talk about how terribly appalling it was. The latter, I could not quite comprehend: it is only a novel, merely a made-up story - how could such a thing ever be so horrifying?

Boy, was I wrong. This was the first novel that I ever had to put down because the writing was too brilliant. Let me explain this. The perspective this novel takes on is that of the pedophile Humbert Humbert. The novel is written as a kind of plead to the jury who are about to decide whether he is guilty or not. Therefore, the narrator tries to justify his actions. He does this by explaining how beautiful Lolita is in his eyes, and how she supposedly seduced him - He couldn't help himself, it was her fault. Readers will at this point understand that Humbert is not a reliable narrator at all, and that he truly is a pervert. Despite his effort to defend himself, he will never mislead the audience. However, because of Humbert's excellent command of the English language (as it is not his first language, and nor Nabokov's), and impeccable description of feelings, we will understand exactly what he is feeling, and we will believe it is real. This is, I then started to understand, why so many people had a hard time reading this novel, and I must admit, I was too. Because of Humbert's grusome imagination and Nabokov's brilliant writing, I had to put the novel down at some point - just to cut myself loose from this mesmerising pedophile.

Even though Nabokov's writing style is flawless, and the story is over all incredibly fascinating, I somehow felt it was at times repetitive. Also, towards the ending I got rather confused, but I will not spoil that on here, assuming some of you may not yet have read the novel. Therefore, along with the fact that I could not read it in one go and had to take a reading pause of about a week, I 'only' rate it 4.5 stars, rather than 5.

I have never before read a novel like Lolita, and believe I never will again. ...more

1 like · Like · see review