Summer Reading: Lolita

(Via Covering Lolita)

   At the beginning of the summer I started reading Lolita and began a trend. A trend of reading books I found difficult and tedious to read, but loved after I finished them. (Don't let that stop you- it was an enrapturing read, it's merely Nabokov's narrator's style and the third quarter of the book is slow- which is necessary to the plot.)  

   First off, Lolita was MORE than I had expected it would be. After its American publication in 1958, it remains a masterpiece. The writing is flawless, the story, incomparable. Not to mention the fact that it's written in Nabokov's second language, his first being Russian.

   We all pretty much know what Lolita is about. Humbert Humbert, our narrator, writes his story in the first person, referring to his audience as his "jury" in a hopeful attempt to set his story straight and atone for his sins. Humbert, a pedophile, falls for Dolores Haze--or as Humbert and the world lovingly refer to her, Lolita--the daughter of Charlotte Haze while living at their boarding house. The rest of the story follows Humbert and Lolita's relationship and travels throughout America.

   The best part of the novel, in my opinion, includes Nabokov's impeccable description of the American landscape during Humbert and Lolita's road trip across the country. Also, Nabokov's protagonist-as-villain set up is perfect. Creating an engrossing (and repulsing) read, truly a novel that cannot be put down.

Rating: five stars.

In five or less words: People love controversy.

Should you read it?: In the words of Coke Talk, "Duh."

P.S.: The films are totally worth the watch too, after all, they did spark the fashion trend.