Lolita

by Vladimir Nabokov

English language

Published June 18, 1998

ISBN:: 978-0-14-026407-4

Lolita is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a middle-aged literature professor under the pseudonym Humbert Humbert, is obsessed with a 12-year-old girl, Dolores Haze, with whom he becomes sexually involved after he becomes her stepfather. "Lolita" is his private nickname for Dolores. The novel was originally written in English and first published in Paris in 1955 by Olympia Press. Later it was translated into Russian by Nabokov himself and published in New York City in 1967 by Phaedra Publishers. Lolita quickly attained a classic status. The novel was adapted into a film by Stanley Kubrick in 1962, and another film by Adrian Lyne in 1997. It has also been adapted several times for the stage and has been the subject of two operas, two ballets, and an acclaimed, but commercially unsuccessful, Broadway musical. …

20 editions

ArianeDeTroil reviewed Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Lolita

5 stars

Buf, buf, buf! Se me ha hecho muy dura. No es plato de gusto sentir cómo te está manipulando el narrador para justificar toda su depravación pese a que en algunos momentos a él mismo se le escapa que no deja de ser un monstruo dañino. Qué prosa tan maravillosa. Qué personaje tan fascinante, inteligente y complejo... y monstruoso. Una grandísima novela.

Whom reviewed Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Lolita

4 stars

The silence of Dolores is ear-splitting. Well, except for the bit about everyone hating all that fucking French. I choose to believe that was an authentic thought untinged by Humbert's narration.

struppi reviewed Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Review of 'Lolita' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

uh im 90% through the book. its at the part where he's starting to reflect on how poorly he treated dolly and how traumatizing her childhood was, and unfortunately i am a pissbaby and cannot go any further. so lets just say i finished it ok? :] i dont really want to see this book ever again.

nabokovs writing is funny and charming. but this subject is difficult for me and strikes a bad chord in my heart . i feel sick to my stomach, no offence.

georgewhatup reviewed Lolita (The Penguin Vladimir Nabokov Hardback Collection) by Vladimir Nabokov

Review of 'Lolita (The Penguin Vladimir Nabokov Hardback Collection)' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

You spend the first half thinking "what the heck is this?" and the second half thinking "how the heck can anyone write so well?"

foxrain reviewed Lolita (The Penguin Vladimir Nabokov Hardback Collection) by Vladimir Nabokov

None

3 stars

Very disturbing but beautifully written. Humbert Humbert's character was brilliantly constructed.

Allen reviewed Lolita (The Penguin Vladimir Nabokov Hardback Collection) by Vladimir Nabokov

Review of 'Lolita (The Penguin Vladimir Nabokov Hardback Collection)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Probably the most cleverly written book that I’ve ever read, but I don’t know why it had to be about such a vulgar topic. It was the epitome of awful taste, but great execution. Fortunately the most lurid scenes are only alluded to or described in metaphor. I’m looking forward to reading Nabokov’s other books which I hope will keep the same level of wit while having a plot that can’t possibly be as indecent as “Lolita”.

JM Deblois reviewed Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Review of 'Lolita' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A good book is always the type you have to read many times. It's not always, but it's usually the case.

Lolita is a marvelous product of prose-writing. More than that, however, is the soul of a love story "crossed by the stars". It's not an easy read, as the images melt so seamlessly it gets one lost on occasion. That's the point. That's what writing is supposed to be, I guess, for the purposes of the great Vladimir Nabokov. The walls of creative writing broke down in his prose, and, as a millenial, I have only discovered it.

No, it's not an easy read, but for the reader itself, it's a test of character of gaining substance amid a meticulous style. Humbert's meditations on love, life, and his darling Lolita looks, at first, a prelude to erotic adventures. But no, no, mistaken was the reader for such perceptions that …

Annette C. Boehm reviewed The annotated Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Review of 'The annotated Lolita' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This was a very interesting read, and quite different from what I'd expected.
The book isn't nearly as explicit as I'd feared, and it is very intelligently written.
For a more in-depth discussion of Lolita, stop by my blog: outsideofacat.wordpress.com/2013/06/27/reading-lolita/ and outsideofacat.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/final-thoughts-on-lolita-nabokov/

tiff reviewed Lolita (The Penguin Vladimir Nabokov Hardback Collection) by Vladimir Nabokov

Review of 'Lolita (The Penguin Vladimir Nabokov Hardback Collection)' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

I CANNOT BELIEVE I BOUGHT THIS ABOUT SOME PERVERT!! I HATE PERVERTS! I KNOW TOO MANY PERVERTS!!! I should have come to goodreads like I had planned and reviewed the book. I heard it was an excellent piece of literature but on a personal level I don't know if I can read it. I don't know if I can. I could not read The Lovely Bones for the same reason. That book sent me into a tailspin of horrific memories and I haven't picked it back up. PLEASE someone tell me this book has some redeeming qualities or I've just wasted $15.

Skyler Hawthorne reviewed Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Review of 'Lolita' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Everybody seems to rave about how good this book is; I just didn't see it.

markm reviewed Lolita (The Penguin Vladimir Nabokov Hardback Collection) by Vladimir Nabokov

Review of 'Lolita (The Penguin Vladimir Nabokov Hardback Collection)' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

It is many things, but mostly, it is a love story.(50)

nekokat reviewed Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Review of 'Lolita' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

A deeply unsettling book, all the more so for being so well-written. I had originally given it 5 stars; on a reread (with, admittedly, a lot of skimming), I wasn't as blown-away by it as all that. Maybe I'm less swayed by shock value now, but you have to admit it's wildly successful at what it sets out to do.

Bridgman reviewed Lolita (The Penguin Vladimir Nabokov Hardback Collection) by Vladimir Nabokov

Review of 'Lolita (The Penguin Vladimir Nabokov Hardback Collection)' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Everything you've heard it is except dirty. The best thing I've read about it is what Nabokov wrote in an afterword to it. Lolita, he wrote, was about his love affair with the English language.