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.

  • Gloomy-Guide6515@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I just don’t think it’s very good. Humbert isn’t a plausible pedophile. (I interviewed a few during a gig as a police reporter) I realize that the character isn’t to be taken seriously as much as a like an arch joke. But an entire novel is too much to a joke that doesn’t take itself seriously – especially when the subject being parodied is as funny as a heart attack.

    Bottom line: Humbert Humbert is a failed mirror to real life and, as satire, not worth spending the time Nabokov forces to spend with him.