Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Lolita is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a middle-aged literature professor under the pseudonym Humbert Humbert, is obsessed with a 12-year-old girl, Dolores Haze, whom he sexually molests after he becomes her stepfather. "Lolita" is his private nickname for Dolores. The novel was originally written in English and first published in Paris in 1955 by Olympia Press. Later it was translated into Russian by Nabokov himself and published in New York City in 1967 by Phaedra Publishers.

---------- Also contained in:

- [Собрание сочинений русского периода в пяти томах: Смех в темноте / Lolita](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL22529308W) - [Novels 1955-1962](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20643775W/Novels_1955-1962) - [Works: Ada / Lolita](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL17687842W/Ada_Lolita)

Nope. I have actually never read something so stomach-churning until now. At least I can read Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi with a little more context. DNF.

Pedophilia is a crime.Do not mix it with art!Seek help!
I don't give a fuck that people call this shit a “well-written” and “rich literature” story and rate it 4-5 stars. They are fucked in mind and have to seek help.

Lolita es un canto a la literatura, es una demostración (u ostentación) del poder de la palabra. Lo que mirado desde un punto de vista objetivo no es más que una larga confesión de una monstruosidad atroz, bajo la pluma de Nabokov se transforma en una experiencia subjetiva y compleja, en la que no pocos lectores acaban -sobre todo hacia el final- sintiendo pena o incluso acaso empatía por Humbert. He ahí el poder de la palabra y su debatible valor frente a la objetividad de los hechos, cuestión central en nuestra actualidad.

Fue una lectura que por momentos se me hizo difícil, no por la prosa de Nabokov, sino justamente por lo que se narra. Hay cuestiones muy duras de digerir, sobre todo aquello que Humbert elige contar -no sin inocencia- a la pasada: los dolores físicos, los llantos diarios de Lolita, esas pequeñas alertas objetivas de la realidad que se cuelan en el relato. Y la lectura, justamente debido al gran talento de Nabokov, implica también envolverse en una atmósfera densa y oscura, en la mente de un perverso pedófilo, de manera tal que, por momentos, bajar el libro implicaba un alivio.

Quizás hoy el personaje de Humbert no sea tan ajeno para quien haya mirado alguno de los tantos documentales de Netflix sobre criminales. Lo que sorprende es que Nabokov le haya impreso características tan atinadas -narcisismo, sentimiento de superioridad intelectual, la formulación de autoengaños y antecedentes históricos para justificarse, la desviación de culpa- justamente sin tener acceso a esos recursos. Personalmente creo que debió conocer a alguien como Humbert, y debió conocerlo bien.

Excelente lectura.

I would like to agree with ‘The Independent', whose favorable review is written on the cover - ‘A masterpiece. One of the greatest works of our age.'
No review can do this book justice, as I am beginning to see. The ruminations of ‘Humbert Humbert', becoming more and more deranged as the pages fly by, is a chilling echo to the spiralling madness of the main character.
I couldn't put this book down, and it is shameful to realize how most people would not touch this book with a ten foot pole, due to them getting the wrong notion of this book encouraging paedophilia. Read and make up your own minds.
TL;DR - read it, if you haven't already. If you have, then you already know how haunting it is.