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 don’t have any literary meaning or explanation here, but I had the same experience with it at first. I started getting bored with it I’d say 3/4s of the way in. I’d gotten past all the main plot points and was part of the way through the beginning of their road trip. It just became a slog. So while I don’t know if I liked it or not, I certainly couldn’t put it down. I hate read the last quarter just to get it finished. I’m glad I pushed myself through it. Would recommend it to people for sure, maybe not with enthusiasm though.
There is a good few chapters where the narrative crashes to a halt, it’s quite frustrating, though I think the afterword makes clear the novel is his attempt to fully engage with the English language and the American environment (which explains his desire to insert a travelogue).