Lolita

At times titillating, but more often than not, profoundly disturbing. This book is incredibly well written, and Jeremy Iron's reading is nothing but superb. Like Shakespeare's plays, Lolita definitely benefits from being heard rather than read. It is written as a stream of consciousness, with the narrator jumping around from remembrance to remembrance, often going off on semi-related tangents before returning to what he was originally talking about. I would only recommend reading or listening to this book to people who are not uncomfortable with pulling on the skin of a sick individual and walking around for 10 hours or so.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

One of the best books I’ve ever read.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a narsacisstic's dictation of his journey....horrible and horrible for the human soul. Not that the subject is taboo....the deplorable self absorbed, self importance....makes you want to punch him in the face. No matter how well written...it is blah. Weak...

1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The characters and story are complex and addictive. You get into the story and see all the discrepencies in how people think and act. I cant wait to read it again. Loved it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The subject matter, disturbing. The events, disgusting. The story of a deluded pervert's debauchery and a young blossom's mutated bloom threatens to defile the readers themselves. However, if you can bear through this horrible topic to the end and give each character careful consideration, you'll glimpse the tragic shame of humanity and history. As a tale, Lolita is grotesque, in the true meaning of the word: twisted, contorted into a gorgeously strange shape which represents the inner workings of a person's mind. The many types of love, false and true, that one can experience, are sculpted into the story. What makes Nabokov's book great is how it reveals something that most of society would rather avert their gaze from. I believe the public aversion and disgust leads only to a repetition of this tragedy in real life. A refusal to understand and tackle this issue allowing the ugly thing to match the steadfast march of history unfettered. TLDR; Beautiful writing, horrible and disturbing topic and events, and a profound insight into a terrible real-life issue.

This is perhaps my favorite novel! Despite the deeply disturbing and uncomfortable subject matter, the book is written so absolutely beautifully I continue re-reading it. It is the way that it is written that makes this book so fascinating - not just the lovely prose, but how they affect the reader's perception of what is happening. Additionally, Jeremy Irons does a fantastic job reading!

Very well written. In the top 25 most copies sold of all time. I felt i should read it. Very different than I expected. Excellent narrator.

Disgusting.

I did not get very far into the book at all, because the subject matter was so disturbing. It is primarily about a man's obsession with underage girls - going into way too many details of it. It made me sick. I would definitely NOT recommend. Don't rent!

I don't get the trick. People talk about this book being akin to the second coming of the New Testament but I just don't see it. The writing is pretty damn good but essentially it is about an old, perverted jackass who thinks pretty highly of himself.