Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
this book shows Nabokov's genius for words and wordplay, even more effective given his first language was Russian, English not even being his second language. Despite the subject matter there are definite comedic moments and perhaps that's why this novel is seen as subversive.
Do I feel sorry for Humbert Humbert, no, not at all.... but then I don't feel sorry for Dolores either.
Perhaps in the end both got what they deserved, Humbert ending up in custody and Lolita a dull and mundane life with a boring husband.
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And for the comparison to "Reading Lolita in Tehran" - I thought that Azar Nafisi and her students concentrated too much on the morality of the book, immersed in a culture where moral judgements are far more important than they are in the West, whereas I loved watching the characterization, the wordplay and delighting in the quirkiness of Nabokov when he made mundane things seem different. I thought the disintegration of Humbert into a paranoid and anxious man was beautifully written. I didn't think I would have sympathy or like the main protagonists so set out to read this book for the story.
Points to date: 345
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
this book shows Nabokov's genius for words and wordplay, even more effective given his first language was Russian, English not even being his second language. Despite the subject matter there are definite comedic moments and perhaps that's why this novel is seen as subversive.
Do I feel sorry for Humbert Humbert, no, not at all.... but then I don't feel sorry for Dolores either.
Perhaps in the end both got what they deserved, Humbert ending up in custody and Lolita a dull and mundane life with a boring husband.
View all my reviews >>
And for the comparison to "Reading Lolita in Tehran" - I thought that Azar Nafisi and her students concentrated too much on the morality of the book, immersed in a culture where moral judgements are far more important than they are in the West, whereas I loved watching the characterization, the wordplay and delighting in the quirkiness of Nabokov when he made mundane things seem different. I thought the disintegration of Humbert into a paranoid and anxious man was beautifully written. I didn't think I would have sympathy or like the main protagonists so set out to read this book for the story.
Points to date: 345
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