This is a book that you have to be prepared to read. It's definitely not an easy book to get through, but it's so worth it. When I say it's not an easy book to get through, I mean emotionally. I flew through the book because the writing was so enthralling, but emotionally, you have to be prepared.
This is the story of a pedophile... who marries a girl's mother just so he can have unlimited access to her. When the mother dies in a freak accident, he runs off with the girl and drives all over the country trying to make her (Lolita/Dolores) fall in love with him (she's twelve when the book begins). Fortunately the protagonist (Humbert Humbert) is in jail when he writes his story, so at least you can rest securely knowing he's not roaming the streets.
Despite it's disturbing storyline, this book is a must-read. Written by a Russian, it shows his complete mastery of the English language. More than just that impressive feat though, is the interesting angle that many scholars have put on it. This is more than just the story of a pedophile, it's the story of the "Old World"s fascination with America. Humbert is a Swiss citizen who was raised in France, but came over to America to get away from the stodgy traditions and feelings of Europe. He fell in love with the idea of America and her vibrancy.
One thing that really struck me with this symbolism is his travels. He first travels from coast to coast trying to make his new "lover" happy. She's a spoiled brat who only wants junk food and movies, while he tries to encourage her in the finer things of life--good literature for the most part. Once he's travelled everywhere, he returns to New England and puts Lolita in a private school in order to give her the best in modern education (the school by the way, is absolutely ridiculous). When she loses interest in that, it's back to travelling, but in a more structured way with Lolita controlling things more (she's 14 at this point).
While it's a very frustrating novel to get through, it ends up with Lolita escaping from Humbert to have a semi-normal life. At the end of the novel she's 17, married, and pregnant. She has to ask Humbert for money, but after that she goes on to lead a happy life with her husband.
While I whole-heartedly loved this book, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who shies away from "hard" books.
1 comment:
I don't shy away from hard books, but they take me forever to finish! I am on page 800 something of Les Miserables, and I can't seem to bring myself to read more than a few pages at a time. It doesn't help that I only ever seem to have time for a few pages before someone or something interrupts me. I'm glad you liked the book, maybe I will try that one when I am done with Les Mis :)
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