Sign in with Facebook
Lori's Reviews > Lolita
Lolita
by
by
I've lost count how many times I've read "Lolita." Ten is a guess, could be more. I love it.
(But not the covers. I want to take a sharpie to every one of them.)
I love Nabokov. He's not for everyone. No one is.
What follows is some advice and observations from me to those who are surprised and/or dismayed to find this famous infamous novel confusing (it can be) and disgusting (it's not) and Vlad a revolting, talentless hack (again, not).
I mean well.
Warning:
Do not read "Lolita" if you trust unreliable narrators.
DNF if by page 50 you still think her name is Lolita.
Advice and observations:
Her name is Dolores.
It's derived from the root "dolor." There are no coincidences in Nabokov.
Nabokov's books have a lot to say. But first, foremost and always they are about language, which he manipulates in the most spectacular ways: amazing.
Reading him requires, besides a taste for him, patience and hard work.
The harder you work the more you'll get out of it and each reading promises you'll get more each time.
But at first you don't have to work so hard.
There is no shame in annotated editions. Sometimes they're practically mandatory. And always respectable.
If you are new to "Lolita" an annotated version is an excellent choice, especially if you're also new to Nabokov.
The choice of an annotated "Lolita" combines your admirable humility with your sincere desire to appreciate Nabokov's art. You may still dislike the book and the writer, but it will be informed dislike; you and he will have earned it.
Or skip "Lolita" altogether. No shame in that.
Either way is far superior to reading it, hating it and posting a review full of outrage and fury and TMI over the exploitation you suffered in your own beautiful blonde childhood, and how you didn't ask for it (neither does she) and you're insulted Lolita (not her real name) is so flirtatious (she isn't) and deliberately enticing (she isn't) and a willing party to it all (no no no) and how dare Nabokov.
And you make your points using GIFs from Clueless.
Sincerely yours,
Vivian Darkbloom
(But not the covers. I want to take a sharpie to every one of them.)
I love Nabokov. He's not for everyone. No one is.
What follows is some advice and observations from me to those who are surprised and/or dismayed to find this famous infamous novel confusing (it can be) and disgusting (it's not) and Vlad a revolting, talentless hack (again, not).
I mean well.
Warning:
Do not read "Lolita" if you trust unreliable narrators.
DNF if by page 50 you still think her name is Lolita.
Advice and observations:
Her name is Dolores.
It's derived from the root "dolor." There are no coincidences in Nabokov.
Nabokov's books have a lot to say. But first, foremost and always they are about language, which he manipulates in the most spectacular ways: amazing.
Reading him requires, besides a taste for him, patience and hard work.
The harder you work the more you'll get out of it and each reading promises you'll get more each time.
But at first you don't have to work so hard.
There is no shame in annotated editions. Sometimes they're practically mandatory. And always respectable.
If you are new to "Lolita" an annotated version is an excellent choice, especially if you're also new to Nabokov.
The choice of an annotated "Lolita" combines your admirable humility with your sincere desire to appreciate Nabokov's art. You may still dislike the book and the writer, but it will be informed dislike; you and he will have earned it.
Or skip "Lolita" altogether. No shame in that.
Either way is far superior to reading it, hating it and posting a review full of outrage and fury and TMI over the exploitation you suffered in your own beautiful blonde childhood, and how you didn't ask for it (neither does she) and you're insulted Lolita (not her real name) is so flirtatious (she isn't) and deliberately enticing (she isn't) and a willing party to it all (no no no) and how dare Nabokov.
And you make your points using GIFs from Clueless.
Sincerely yours,
Vivian Darkbloom
Sign into ŷ to see if any of your friends have read
Lolita.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
Finished Reading
Finished Reading
Finished Reading
Finished Reading
Finished Reading
Finished Reading
Finished Reading
Finished Reading
Finished Reading
Finished Reading
December 8, 2013
– Shelved
September 9, 2019
– Shelved as:
reviewed
Comments Showing 51-86 of 86 (86 new)
date
newest »
newest »
Violeta wrote: "Her name is Dolores.It's derived from the root "dolor." There are no coincidences in Nabokov.
Finally, this simple truth is mentioned! Everybody (or almost) seems to be so blinded by the paedophil..."
Thank you so much, Violeta. I wrote this originally when one of the top reviews was of by a lovely blonde who described her own experience with a pedophile and posted photos of herself at Lolita's age! I was incensed. That review has been deleted, no doubt to the frustration of GR pedos, but for me it was the ultimate symbol of just how much this book is misunderstood.
This might be my favourite of all your reviews; I agree wholeheartedly with all your points. Its a shame that some people are missing out on a great book because they approach it from such a mistaken angle. The narrators (including the introduction) are SO unreliable that I think people seriously underestimate how much Nabokov is toying with the timeframe in this work.You mentioned shortening the learning curve with a professor's guidance and I wanted to mention that there is a Yale professor (I forget her name unfortunately) who has several classes available on Youtube covering Lolita and they are very good. I found them late but if anyone reads this before dipping their toe in for the first time it would be worth their time to seek it out.
All the naming in this novel is interesting--one of the most interesting things for me. And yes! HH is an unreliable narrator--a highly unreliable narrator. If readers believe him, it's at their own peril. You've capsulized some important points for those attempting this novel--should be a preface to a new edition!
Noel wrote: "This might be my favourite of all your reviews; I agree wholeheartedly with all your points. Its a shame that some people are missing out on a great book because they approach it from such a mistak..."Noel, thank you so much for the praise!
I was able to find parts 1 and 3 (listed as 5 and 7) of the Yale lectures.
I look forward to hearing what she has to say and there are many other lectures -- including John Barth, Toni Morrison, Pynchon, Kerouac -- I had no idea!
What a trove, thank you for this too! So grateful! 😘
Alisa wrote: "All the naming in this novel is interesting--one of the most interesting things for me. And yes! HH is an unreliable narrator--a highly unreliable narrator. If readers believe him, it's at their ow..."Thanks so much, Alisa! I agree with your comment on names.
I love and admire his choices of names and how he at times deploys them across novels, such as Haze in Lolita and Shade in Pale Fire, Vivian Darkbloom (which I'd never have known was an anagram without my professor), etc. :)
I love your review. Very clever, humorous and informative.
Lori wrote: "Noel wrote: "This might be my favourite of all your reviews; I agree wholeheartedly with all your points. Its a shame that some people are missing out on a great book because they approach it from ..."I can get these lectures? Oh, happy day! I've discovered tons of stuff on the Folger site, but this will add to my education. Thanks for sharing!
Anne wrote: "I love your review. Very clever, humorous and informative."Thanks, Anne! :)
Alisa wrote: "Lori wrote: "Noel wrote: "This might be my favourite of all your reviews; I agree wholeheartedly with all your points. Its a shame that some people are missing out on a great book because they appr..."Oh happy day indeed, Alisa! Noel, this is treasure! Thanks again!
"There are no coincidences in Nabokov" love that, so true. Also, good advice about reading an annotated version - is there a specific one you'd recommend?
Craig wrote: ""There are no coincidences in Nabokov" love that, so true. Also, good advice about reading an annotated version - is there a specific one you'd recommend?"Thanks, Craig! I haven't read an annotated -- but in message 43 (as I write) Petergiaquinta wrote, among other interesting things, this:
"If I may put in my own plug, Alfred Appel's Annotated Lolita is the version I read...he was a student of Nabokov and a professor of mine. Unfortunately, I never took a Nabokov class from him, but I had a course with him about Film and Literature, and he really had a profound impact on my understanding of books and media."
Added th Appel Annotated to ‘Currently Reading thanks to your comment today on Strong Opinions (Vintage International) by Vladimir Nabokov � m
� wrote: "Added th Appel Annotated to ‘Currently Reading thanks to your comment today on Strong Opinions (Vintage International) by Vladimir Nabokov � m"Yikes, forgot about this, m -- did you download it yet? If you recall I read an older Amazon review saying the annotations are messed up in the e-book and I really want to know if they corrected that.
Now that I'm almost done with Strong Opinions, with its intriguing bits about Lolita, very impressed with Appel -- makes me want to read annotations even more. Thanks.
What a wonderful review Lori, lots of great advice there - much needed as I'm a newbie to this author and have had Lolita on my TBR for a little while, great review!
Lori wrote: "� wrote: "Added th Appel Annotated to ‘Currently Reading thanks to your comment today on Strong Opinions (Vintage International) by Vladimir Nabokov � m"Yikes, forgot about this, m -- did you..."
I haven't downloaded it because I've been waiting to find out from you 🤣 But no worries, I'm not re-reading this one anytime soon. Just reads rest of year, no re-reads :)
Mark wrote: "What a wonderful review Lori, lots of great advice there - much needed as I'm a newbie to this author and have had Lolita on my TBR for a little while, great review!"Are you reading an annotated or going it alone? Up above Noel posted link to Yale lectures and perhaps I re-posted it. I want to read annotated, Alfred Appel was his student, in the book I'm reading now, Strong Opinions, Appel interviews him a few times as they became friends, Nab respected him later as a colleague and let him annotate it. You can never catch it all.
BTW don't dare post this on your status but the person who posted that Humbert is the victim? No. No no no no no. But you knew that. Still I was shocked to read it.
Anyway it's not about the story, it never is. It's always about the words, the puns, the double entendres, the narrator. This one was partly inspired by The Cask of Amontillado, he wanted to write as vile a narrator as Poe's but in long form. Other inspirations too but Montresor in The Cask was big one.
Cheers, Mark, you will learn start me up on Nab and I blah blah blah, I so love him and was fortunate to have a wonderful professor who let me in as ungrad to his small grad seminar, don't remember his name but thank him daily :)
Lori wrote: "Mark wrote: "What a wonderful review Lori, lots of great advice there - much needed as I'm a newbie to this author and have had Lolita on my TBR for a little while, great review!"Are you reading ..."
Mark P is reading now. Don’t look over his shoulder!
.
Fran wrote: "Superb review, Lori!"Thanks, Fran!
� wrote: "Mark P is reading now. Don’t look over his shoulder!"You're absolutely right.
@Mark P. please ignore everything I said and ignore me!
Thank you, m. Sometimes I need to be told, esp. when it comes to Nab.
@Mark P. unfriend me even 🤣 (No, don't, please, I'll be good!!!!)
"The experience of reading it, if you do actually read it, is to relinquish concern with right and wrong and just to feel things as another person feels them" A quote from an essay on Lolita by Emily Mortimer. This is not always an easy task. I enjoyed your review, Lori.
Hahaha Lori - I am determined not to read or re-read any reviews while in the middle of this wonderful book, but your hilarious comment popped up on my feed - you know, now you mention it, I did feel some hot breath on my shoulder - was it you or mark?? Just as I was reading the bit when Humby was looking over D's shoulder - *shudder*. Yes the writing is terrific - enjoying the journey. Unfriend?????? No way :))
Nicely done, Lori :)
Barbara wrote: ""The experience of reading it, if you do actually read it, is to relinquish concern with right and wrong and just to feel things as another person feels them" A quote from an essay on Lolita by Emily Mortimer. This is not always an easy task. I enjoyed your review, Lori."Thanks, Barbara! 😊 Here's Nabokov in a 1962 interview with the BBC, quoted in Strong Opinons:
Why did you write Lolita?
It was an interesting thing to do. Why did I write any of my books, after all? For the sake of the pleasure, for the sake of the difficulty. I have no social purpose, no moral message; I’ve no general ideas to exploit, I just like composing riddles with elegant solutions.
Mark wrote: "Hahaha Lori - I am determined not to read or re-read any reviews while in the middle of this wonderful book, but your hilarious comment popped up on my feed - you know, now you mention it, I did feel some hot breath on my shoulder - was it you or mark?? Just as I was reading the bit when Humby was looking over D's shoulder - *shudder*. Yes the writing is terrific - enjoying the journey. Unfriend?????? No way :))"I am maligned, it was Other Mark! I would never --
but since you're not reading these posts, right?
thought I'd just mention for when you are ---
GR friend Noel posted upthread about these excellent Yale Lectures on YT:
(worth listening to when you're not creating content of your own)
and
recently alerted me this excellent 14-episode podcast. I've listened to half so far and 👍 it's worth listening to, interesting, doesn't deconstruct the text, perhaps perfect for when you're prepping your garden (or whatever 😂) to create your YT videos ;)
breathe down your neck! as if! that mark is such a troublemaker.
oh also
I only noticed yesterday but there are two videos of him next to the reviews here.
you're a busy guy. you haven't time to even read this! unfriend me!!! 🤣
Nice review -- and unlike any other review of this book I've read. Well done.
Gaurav wrote: "Nicely done, Lori :)"Thank you so much, Guarav :)
Left Coast Justin wrote: "Nice review -- and unlike any other review of this book I've read. Well done."Thanks, Justin! It was written in response to a former top review in which a female human posted about her sustained abuse by a pedophile during her blonde nymphetic childhood and illustrated it with several photos of herself at the tender age as well as one or two of the guy.
I was powered by indignation resulting from her utterly unironic, egocentric, pedomagnetic prose and wrote this aiming directly at her while attempting to say a useful thing or two about the book too. I was told by a mutual GR friend that upon reading my review she deleted hers stat, possibly leaving GR pedos worldwide in tears.
Thanks again, Justin!
My advice to a budding literary critic would be as follows...Beware of the modish message. Ask yourself if the symbol you have detected is not your own footprint.
-- Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov
Hey Lori, I love this review, particularly after reading the book for the first time, it means so much more. Now I get the "Dolor" root meaning, and how it all fits. Your point about the cover is well made - you know I was so relieved when I discovered it was a Penguin edition - that's my favourite Lolita cover - the others are a bit too suggestive. I dont think I'll watch the movie. Great review again Lori, a 10 read veteran - yikes!!!! I have to catch up - 9 to go!!! :))
Mark wrote: "Hey Lori, I love this review, particularly after reading the book for the first time, it means so much more. Now I get the "Dolor" root meaning, and how it all fits. Your point about the cover is w..."Thanks, Mark! I don't consider it a review, more commentary. If you read the comment above yours to LCJ you'll know how it came about.
Nabokov was not pleased with the movie but he did publish his script. I saw it but don't remember, only thinking it was very dated though funny at times. Won't see the Jeremy Irons one; by the marketing (source of the worst of the covers) I know it can't respect the work.
Many people (I'm one) and knowledgeable scholars interpret almost all of the events in Lolita as taking place in Humbert's mind.
FWIW ;) Pale Fire also features an insane unreliable narrator but the subject matter is easier for many though the novel is more challelnging. In Pale Fire Nabokov tackles the very form of the novel as well as literary criticism and other things to hilarious effect. It's fiendishly clever and won't make you uncomfortable.
My first two readings were for an intensive graduate course in Nabokov -- in which we had to read each book twice and were permitted no outside materials, it was us and the books, that professor made us work so hard for it and I'm ever so grateful for his approach.
That said, in '22 I'll be reading Alfred Appel's annotated. I never have and can't ever get it all. Part of why Vivian Bloodmark is my favorite writer ;) Cheers, Mark!
Lori wrote: "Mark wrote: "Hey Lori, I love this review, particularly after reading the book for the first time, it means so much more. Now I get the "Dolor" root meaning, and how it all fits. Your point about t..."Thanks for taking the time to take me through that Lori - wow, you had to read each book twice, no outside materials, intensive - that would be brilliant. Hard work no doubt - but what a way to learn. I need to calibrate myself - I'm probably at level 2 on Lolita, and considering mow much you've read and studied it you'd obviously be a high 9 (can't give you 10!!!) - so my next read must be an annotated version - 2022 I reckon. Thanks so much for the discussion - I love it :))
THE FACT THAT YOU SIGNED IT WITH VIVIAN DARKBLOOM🤌>>
This review is so necessary. I'm tired of people saying it is a love story. I'm tired of people saying Dolores is the problem and calling her Lolita. I'm tired of people saying Humbert is sweet, just a little silly guy in love and not a manipulative predator, and of people saying Nabokov is trying to make us empathize with him and not show how deranged his ways of thinking are and how self indulgent he is. I'm especially tired of predators using this on their too young victims to make them think it was ok because they can't see under the layers yet. I'm tired of people saying it humanizes a p*dophile, whether they think it's a good thing or not, because what I saw in it was one of the most twisted and devilish human psyche I've ever seen. I'm just tired. I wish editions would Respect Nabokov's wishes and put flowers on the cover of whatever. I hate my copy. It's a french one with a girl with red lipstick and blonde "pin-up" hairstyle on it. I hate it. I'm considering ripping it off honestly.Thank you for your review.
I have the same problem with my copy Lao. The cover of mine is strongly focused on a young girl’s lips and has the worst blurb I’ve ever seen but I haven’t found a more suitable copy yet. I could order one of course but it shows up frequently enough in used shops that I’m bound to find one one of these days.My son read it recently and I was really proud of him that he saw through all the problem areas without much prompting on my part (I pointed out the inappropriate “love story� blurb). Not everyone is going to read it so critically with that type of presentation unfortunately.
Is there a version annotated by the great King of Zemblan?
It's derived from the root "dolor." There are no coincidences in Nabokov.
Finally, this simple truth is mentioned! Everybody (or almost) seems to be so blinded by the paedophilia nowadays they refuse do go between the lines and see the undeniable pain of Loss that's all over this masterpiece. Thank you for a very thoughtful review, Lori.