I recently read Lolita and was really conflicted as to whether I liked it or not. In one sense it was an uncomfortable read but I found I couldn’t put it down. I see a lot of people saying that they hate it because Humbert is such a monster but surely that’s the point? Nabokov makes it such an uncomfortable read through putting it in first person; we are meant to slightly sympathise with Humbert (because of his unreliable narration) and then feel disgusted with ourselves. Combined with the ‘American Dream’/Academia/Psychological Thriller aesthetic it’s almost as much a mockery of society and its romanticisation of crime as The Secret History. This is even proven by Lolita’s resurgence in popular aesthetics and romanticisation.
I’ve always likened this book to a great piece of art. It’s like if Michelangelo painted a rape. You have to look at the piece as art. And then you can be disturbed by the subject matter. But always remembering they are not the same thing.
Yeah, but the person that won’t stop looking at the rape painting is freaking suspect.
Some forms of art are not supposed to be “enjoyable” or “liked” but are still important and meaningful.