“Just like the old man in that book by Nabokov” goes the lyrics to The Police’s hit song, “Don’t Stand So Close To Me”. One of the most famous and controversial books of the last century, Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 book Lolita is often hailed as a literary classic. The plot follows Humbert Humbert as he crosses the Atlantic to America after a failed first marriage. He becomes a tenant in a house owned by Charlotte with a young daughter Delores who catches Humbert’s eye, and lust, who he then refers to as “Lolita”. After a doomed marriage to Charlotte, he runs off with Lolita staying in motels across the US as he lives out his sexual fantasies with the 12-year-old girl.
In reviews of the book, morality is put the side as high-minded readers marvel at the stylistic prose of Nabakov who writes the story through the eyes of Humbert. The lurid material is shocking at times as one wonders how he could not act as a protector of his step child. At other times, the storytelling is amusing, in a cocksure Morrissey kind of way. A challenging book that continues to divide opinion, one that I did find hard to put down as it continued though I’m not sure I ever truly enjoyed it. Read at your own discretion .
7/10
The Light Appears 