Lolita

This was The Bookclub's choice for August. I had been wanting to read this for a while now, especially since it was on the BBC's Big Read Top 100 book list.

The book was first published in 1959 and I think the fame, or rather notoriety, of the book, lies more in the topic than in the actual written word.

Humbert Humbert is the main character and he becomes obsessed with Dolores (Lolita), a 12 year old girl who lives in the house where he is renting a room. His infatuation becomes so great that he even marries Charlotte (Dolores' mother), in the hope of staying close to his darling Lolita. Charlotte ends up dying in a freak accident and he become Dolores' guardian, travelling all around America with her.

Humbert Humbert is not the most reliable narrator and I often found myself thinking of Lolita as a petulant child, who instigated the whole ordeal. The foreword and afterword shed light onto the intricacy of the novel and the sheer cleverness Vladimir Nabokov's displays with some of his prose.

"Lolita, the light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul."

I raced through the first half of this book, rapt with anticipation, but was slightly disappointed with how events unravelled. I would definitely recommend this as a good, quick and very interesting read. 7.5/10



LMM

xoxo