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Lolita

Vladimir Nabokov

Start date: May 1, 2017

Finish date: May 31, 2017

Discussion: New School Classics- 1915-2005

Why we're reading this: Revisit the Shelf Reread, May 2017

Previous Reads:
Revisit the Shelf Reread, December 2015
Contemporary Clas…more
[close] Revisit the Shelf Reread, May 2017

Previous Reads:
Revisit the Shelf Reread, December 2015
Contemporary Classic Group Read, June 2014

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New School Classics- 1915-2005

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What Members Thought

May 23, 2021 Kenny rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, россия, desert-island-books, spenky-says-so

He broke my heart. You merely broke my life.
Lolita ~~ Vladimir Nabokov

One of my reading goals for 2021 is to clear books off my Must Read Bucket List. This brings me to Vladimir Nabokov’s, Lolita, one of the first books to make that list years ago.

We all know the story of Nabokov’s disturbing masterpiece ~~ the middle-aged Humbert Humbert embarks on a tragic love affair with his 12-year-old, bubble-gum popping stepdaughter Dolores "Lolita" Haze. Lolita remains as shocking today as it ...more

158 likes · Like · see review

Dec 24, 2012 Laura rated it really liked it

Shelves: mtbr-challenge-2014, fiction-20th-century, america, russian-fiction, 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, read-2014

This is quite unbelievable but this is my first book I've read by Vladimir Nabokov. But certainly I waited that long in order to read the English version due to some bad translations to Portuguese.

The plot is already very well known and described elsewhere.

According to Wiki, this book "was written in English and published in 1955 in Paris, in 1958 in New York, and in 1959 in London. It was later translated by its Russian-native author into Russian."

What I liked most is the author's style of writ ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Jun 05, 2011 Trisha rated it liked it

Shelves: classics

Interesting book, but it seemed to stall out and became a very slow read. It is a disturbing look at a grown man's obsession with a 12 year old girl and is told from his perspective. It is written in a way that neither encourages nor criticizes his actions, it just bluntly describes his thoughts, feelings, and behavior in a very matter of fact way as he writes down the events. The novel is interesting, but it starts to stall out towards the end and just begins to drag and drag before reaching a ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 25, 2013 Norrin2 rated it did not like it

Shelves: hated-it

The intelligentsia mafia will call you a prude if you dare speak heresy about Lolita not being a great book. But there are other reasons to not like this book. Maybe it's just me but when I read fiction I need to have at least one character I can identify with or pull for, and I hate everybody in this book, Lolita, her mom, the pervert with the same first and last name. And if I'm going to spend time with people I hate I might as well go to work. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 19, 2010 Allison rated it liked it

It's hard for me to rate this book. I made it about 1/3 of the way through. The writing is wonderful, but the subject matter was too disturbing for me. I couldn't handle the way he wrote with such lust about a 12 year old girl. Maybe if I was younger I could brush it off, but as I approach timeline of having my own kids it's too creepy. ...more

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