nicanical
There are several things to dislike about Lolita. That it portrays pedophilia and sexual assault perhaps tops the list. Thankfully, the difficult scenes are dispensed with early, and largely depicted euphemistically—i.e., they are not pornographic or gratuitous. Neither is pedophilia glorified. The protagonist and abuser, Humbert, himself acknowledges his obsession is a paraphilia and mental illness.
The discomfort of the pedophilia aside, the next obstacle is Nabokov's style. The prose, while mostly poetic and easy to read, occasionally turns unbearably flowery and flamboyant (quite noticeable around two-thirds through). There are also distracting tangents, and interjections in French. The flowery language and tangents are at least justifiable because they convey Humbert's degrading state of mind. The French though? If you don't read French, then the lack of contextual clues or, e.g., footnotes with translations, means sometimes relying on external materials to understand Humbert. And I find it irritating to be taken out of a book like that.
Nevertheless, I found Lolita compelling because of Dolores's (that's Lolita's real name) story told between the lines: I read to the end not for Humbert, but to see if Dolores survives, if she ends up okay.
The foreword is fictional and a part of the story. It should be read.
The afterword is a nice read as well. It gives background on Lolita's development, and some of Nabokov's perspectives on writing and fiction.
There are several things to dislike about Lolita. That it portrays pedophilia and sexual assault perhaps tops the list. Thankfully, the difficult scenes are dispensed with early, and largely depicted euphemistically—i.e., they are not pornographic or gratuitous. Neither is pedophilia glorified. The protagonist and abuser, Humbert, himself acknowledges his obsession is a paraphilia and mental illness.
The discomfort of the pedophilia aside, the next obstacle is Nabokov's style. The prose, while mostly poetic and easy to read, occasionally turns unbearably flowery and flamboyant (quite noticeable around two-thirds through). There are also distracting tangents, and interjections in French. The flowery language and tangents are at least justifiable because they convey Humbert's degrading state of mind. The French though? If you don't read French, then the lack of contextual clues or, e.g., footnotes with translations, means sometimes relying on external materials to understand Humbert. And I find it irritating to be taken out of a book like that.
Nevertheless, I found Lolita compelling because of Dolores's (that's Lolita's real name) story told between the lines: I read to the end not for Humbert, but to see if Dolores survives, if she ends up okay.
The foreword is fictional and a part of the story. It should be read.
The afterword is a nice read as well. It gives background on Lolita's development, and some of Nabokov's perspectives on writing and fiction.