I read Lolita in like 3 days so I didn’t have a lot of time to sit and reflect on it. I went in knowing the general premise but nothing much more.
It was uncomfortable to start, but pretty quickly I knew what to expect and wasn’t too surprised when the awful imagery kept coming. Without the great writing in front of me and the desire to keep reading to see how the story turns out, I’m left with the most basic images of all of the awful things HH did and who he was. It’s giving me far more intense feelings of disgust that I didn’t have while reading it.
Just wanted to share to see if anyone else has similar experiences with books in the weeks or months after reading them.
by oljoc
3 Comments
https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/19ehzjd/whats_your_opinion_on_lolita_by_vladimir_nabokov/
I hear you. I had a similar experience with the book. But I also found it interesting because people like HH exist and it provides an insight into the minds of pedophiles. So while it is uncomfortable it is also an important book, imo.
I was able to make peace with the entire experience by looking at it as a case study rather than a story, if that helps.
I can remember exactly where I was during each of the big plot beats in Lolita because of my visceral emotional reactions to Humbert and the tragedies he caused. I definitely feel similarly to you. It taught me that you can enjoy the reading of a book while feeling nothing but disgust and contempt for the protagonist.