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Vladimir Nabokov: Lolita

The saddle shoe one is the one I was thinking of. I'd never even seen your second photo! Sue Lyon looked to be about eighteen. In the original movie? I thought it took away from the story.
 
Yeah, I like the black and white saddle shoe shot too. It looks so innocent, and yet since Lolita is anonymous it adds to the mystique about her. I'm hoping to get to the library soon and borrow Lolita for my first reading of it, but if I end up buying a copy it will surely be this one.

We still haven't helped PG find the relevant ISBN, though. As I said, looking on the web seems unreliable because many booksellers use this cover but have a different book behind it. I'm sure someone owns this and can post the ISBN directly from the back of their book.
 
Yeah that's it. I just think the cover is beautiful. The saddle shoes are perfect. My local bookstore doesn't have the version, but I'm sure they could order it from me. As Lolita is one of my all time favourite books, I am being a little picky about which version I buy.
 
I purchased Lolita the ther day, and they only had the second photo that Kook posted. I was a bit disappointed because it doesn't really look all that nice, but I really wanted to read it. I /love/ the first cover, though, I think it looks great.
 
Love4OneAnother said:
I guess she would probobly like it if I did discuss what I was reading with her..but we've never done that. She likes completely different things than I do, and so we never really talked about books, just went into the library and then wandered our seperate ways.
And so I guess you guys are right-- there are so many other books on my 'Must Read' list, and that one isn't going anywhere.

However, I wanted this one!! xD While I feel like a small child throwing a tantrum, I had heard such things about this book, and Shade's post has only made me yearn to read it more.

But I'll wait. At least for another year and a half, when I can drive myself to the library. :D

. xD
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I think you are smart to let Mom's word stand just on the point that she doesn't usually tell you "no" and you can read it later.

But I wanted to share something off-subject, but related to your post.

My dad used to take me to the book store when I was young. It was just our thing to do. My sisters didn't like to read, so it was just the two of us. We also went in two different directions, but those trips are now really special memories to me.

You're 15 and probably don't think this way yet, but someday you might so cherish that time with your mom. (And I bet she feels the same way.)
 
This is going to be great. I'm getting my Christmas shopping done early and I may buy that turkey-dinner-with-all-the-trimmings-already-made-and-shipped-to-you-in-a-box so I can spend more time here. :D
 
Hey, just making sure you know about the 50th Anniversary for Lolita.

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I finished Lolita tonight, just in time for the BOTM discussion :D I'll post more about it when that thread opens, but I think that I'll just mention that I did enjoy it a lot. The writing style took a little while for me to get used to, but after that I managed just fine. A very witty, eye-opening book, which I definitely recommend.
 
StillILearn said:
I'm happy to find that you'll be in on the BOTMC discussion on this one, MC.

:)
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Ta, StillI :) Are you in on it too? I'm very interested in finding out your thoughts on the book. Your reviews are always top-notch.
 
I read in my annotated Lolita that Nabokov almost named his nymphet Virginia and called the book "Ginny".

Think of it! :eek:
 
Discussion: Nabokov, Vladimir: Lolita

December 2005 Book of the Month

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Amazon.com: Despite its lascivious reputation, the pleasures of Lolita are as much intellectual as erogenous. It is a love story with the power to raise both chuckles and eyebrows. Humbert Humbert is a European intellectual adrift in America, haunted by memories of a lost adolescent love. When he meets his ideal nymphet in the shape of 12-year-old Dolores Haze, he constructs an elaborate plot to seduce her, but first he must get rid of her mother. In spite of his diabolical wit, reality proves to be more slippery than Humbert's feverish fantasies, and Lolita refuses to conform to his image of the perfect lover.
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I just finished this book about a week ago, so I still have it fresh in my mind for discussion (for once..). Overall, I enjoyed it. I liked the humor and the insight that was contained in the book; I have never before had a glimpse into the mind of a paedophile, and I found some of the reasons for his actions and some of the twisted logic that went on in his head to be extremely interesting. I have always had a fascination in finding out /why/ people do the things that they do, and so naturally I found this book to be compelling and right up my alley.

It did take me awhile to get used to the writing style. Nabokov tended to explain things in an over-complicated way, which was a challenge at first, but after was a real joy to read. I understood that it was mirroring the complex mind of Humbert Humbert, and I believe that it helped me to better understand the type of person that H.H was. I think that this book is a great starter for me into the world of literature, as it wasn't overly complicated, yet I believe that it had elements of the complicated writing of literary books. Am I correct in this assumption?

The book was a little more graphic than I had expected - I thought it would only tell of his love for Lolita and would gloss over the actual lust and the deeds. Don't get me wrong, I think that it was better the way that it actually was, I just wasn't expecting it. I can now see why the booked was banned all those years ago.

The ending got a little too weird for me. Maybe it was because I was reading it off and on, but the ending didn't seem to flow to me. It seemed like an entirely different book, what with the sudden change of H.H and the way that they rushed things a bit. But again, I could have just been me.

I think that I will read this again once I've matured a bit and see what else I can get out of it. I'm sure that I missed a lot of allusions and such whilst I was reading. One thing is for sure, I don't think that this book will be forgotten for a long time to come.
 
It did take me awhile to get used to the writing style. Nabokov tended to explain things in an over-complicated way, which was a challenge at first, but after was a real joy to read. I understood that it was mirroring the complex mind of Humbert Humbert, and I believe that it helped me to better understand the type of person that H.H was. I think that this book is a great starter for me into the world of literature, as it wasn't overly complicated, yet I believe that it had elements of the complicated writing of literary books. Am I correct in this assumption.
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MC, I think that Humbert Humbert was nuts. I think he was quite literally insane. (He actually suggests this himself - remember how he casually drops mention of checking himself into asylums from time to time?) And I also think the book is extremely complicated. That there are layers upon layers. The first time I read it, I think maybe I read the top layer only, for the story, and that was excellent in itself. But this is one book that should be read more than once - although maybe not at one sitting!

I almost took my copy with me to the middle school today to glance over while I was waiting to pick up my g'daughter. Then I thought better of it. :D

What did you think about Lolita? I mean what did you think about the child herself, not what did you think about the novel. You already answered that!

:rolleyes:
 
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