Christina Reviews *Lolita* by Vladimir Nabokov

         I think most people have heard of the book Lolita.  If you haven't heard of the book, you have at least heard of the movies.  Or if you haven't heard of the movies, you have at least heard the name Lolita used as a noun for a young girl of questionable character.  What you may not have heard, though, is that the book by Vladimir Nabokov isn't about a young girl who seduces an older man.  This was the thing that shocked me most upon reading the book.  I was shocked at the utter smear campaign against the greatly misunderstood Lolita.  I suppose this is a testament to Humbert Humbert's persuasiveness.

         This novel is about a pedophile named Humbert Humbert who likes "nymphets" ages 9-14.  His excuse is that he once loved a girl when he was young himself;  it was a love story that ended tragically.  Ever since, he has been looking for the love of his life in every "nymphet" he meets. 

         But let me just say right up front that Humbert Humbert is an unreliable narrator of the highest degree.  So this is most likely a lie. 

        Humbert Humbert gets to know Lolita while boarding with her mother.  He had planned to live with another family, but when that fell through, he was forced to make other plans.  At first he's upset.  There was a little girl in that other household whom he was really anxious to get to know.  But then he meets Lolita, and he's not so upset anymore.  Soon after moving in, he marries Lolita's mother as a way to get close to the 12 year old girl.  Yes.  In the book she's 12 years old.  It's only a matter of time before he gets her alone.
 
          This is the set-up.  The rest you'd have to find out by reading the book yourselves.

          Nabokov is a lyrical writer.  It's a cliche to say this, but his prose practically sings.  And then there's Humbert Humbert, who is a detestable character by all accounts, only he implores you to take him seriously.  He wants you to believe that Lolita was the one who seduced him, purely by being a nymphet and doing what nymphets do.

           But Humbert Humbert is an unreliable narrator. Is any of what he says true?  Probably not.

          I'm not even sure if the Lolita he speaks of is entirely human.  What I mean is that I doubt the qualities she possesses in Humbert Humbert's mind are qualities she possesses in reality.  She is Humbert Humbert's dream-child.  The nymphet to end all nymphets. 

          In the hands of a lesser writer, this would be pure trash.  But Nabokov proves that it's not subject matter that makes or breaks a novel.  If you have a narrator who is so compelling that you will follow him to the brinks of hell, if necessary, then the readers can be persuaded. 

         I didn't love this book.  It's not the kind of book I would want to read again and again.  It was more than enough to read it once.  But I understand why it's a classic.