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It's the 'only' for me

This is one of the few books I didnā€™t finished because ew

Bro the culture around Lolita is so gross, like calling it a love story or constantly referring to Dolores as "Lolita" or how the covers will have girls in like short skirts and heart sunglasses who are sucking on lollipops when apparently Dolores in the book is a tomboy who doesn't like any of that stuff. Excited to hear your thoughts; I have this one checked out right now but haven't started it yet.

Eva wrote: "Bro the culture around Lolita is so gross, like calling it a love story or constantly referring to Dolores as "Lolita" or how the covers will have girls in like short skirts and heart sunglasses wh..."

My library hold just came in, so I'll probably end up reading it this week or next. I'm a bit nervous to start (as anyone should be when delving into subject matter this dark) but I have heard incredible things about Nabokov's prose and tend to enjoy psychological books with antihero MCs, so I think I'll definitely have an intense experience with this one.

Eva wrote: "Bro the culture around Lolita is so gross, like calling it a love story or constantly referring to Dolores as "Lolita" or how the covers will have girls in like short skirts and heart sunglasses wh..."

The way it's been marketed and continually sexualized is so disgusting though, I hope I'll be able to distinguish my preconceived notions about it from the actual text while I'm reading it.

it's disgusting, i had to put this book on hold

Nabokov was adamant at the time that he did Not want the image of a young girl on the cover, iirc. Guess what most edition covers are like?

ellena wrote: "Nabokov was adamant at the time that he did Not want the image of a young girl on the cover, iirc. Guess what most edition covers are like?"

Humbert should be the one on the cover.

I was totally unaware of this fact, ellena! I totally agree with you ZOE!

ellena wrote: "Nabokov was adamant at the time that he did Not want the image of a young girl on the cover, iirc. Guess what most edition covers are like?"

Yes, exactly! It's disgusting.

Wait isn't this the book where a man gets obsessed with a literal child?!

So many people read this book and didnā€™t realize that Humbert is an unreliable narrator šŸ˜

Ok I'm back I just googled it and had no idea it was based on true events. And I copy and pasted this from an article: "Nabokov had been fascinated by the idea of a middle-aged man's sexual obsession with a young girl for many years, and the plot reoccurs in several of his earlier works." Good luck if you read itšŸ˜­

Itā€™s based on true facts!! This is really creepy news!!

My edition of the book has a quote that says "You read Lolita nodding with scandalised assent"

NO YOU FUCKING DON'T?! This is one of my favourite books, I love it but if you're "nodding in scandalised assent" you need to be checked out by a psychologist. It's only natural that a book featuring a terrible protagonist will attract terrible people, unfortunately, but then people tend to assume everyone who likes this book sympathises with Humbert because of these weirdos.

Thank you for saying this!

The edition I got also describes it as a "love story." Yeah, like the raping of a child is romantic in any sense.

Late to the party, but my edition has reviews saying:

ā€Comedy, subversive, yet divine.ā€� (Martin Amis)
ā€œA great novelā€� It widens our own humanity.ā€� (Guardian)
ā€œLaugh-aloud black humour.ā€� (Daily Telegraph)
ā€œThereā€™s no funnier monster in modern literature than poor, doomed Humbert Humbert. Going to hell in his company would always be worth the ride.ā€� (Independent)
ā€œLolita is the more shocking because it is both intensely lyrical and wildly funnyā€� a Medusaā€™s head with trick paper snakes.ā€� (Time)

EXCUSE ME?? What the fuck. It makes me want to throw up reading those sentences.