The World of Literature

Russia: Valdimir Nabokov – Lolita

Originally rejected by a number of American publishers but later released by a small independent French press, Lolita was banned for several years in the country. Presumably the idea of a middle-aged pervert being obsessed with a 12-year-old girl left a bad taste in some peoples’ mouths. When I first bought it, I slid it across the counter as I would a Jilly Cooper novel, feeling vaguely adult at purchasing such a raunchy book at only 14. Yet when I sat down to read it I was surprised to find that it was actually highly amusing at not at all pornographic, really.

Humbert Humbert, our narrator, is a fifty-something European man obsessed with ‘nymphets’, girls on the brink of puberty. The story, taken out of context, is completely inappropriate. He is immediately dislikeable – grotesque, sexual, perverted – but full of wit and humour. Lolita is the 12-year-old girl who he becomes obsessed with, the thing he never stops wanting because he never actually has her. However, the plot is really secondary to the writing; a labyrinth of language weaving subtle meaning and subtext throughout, Lolita is beautifully written and tells a disturbing story while never including a single explicit scene or making the reader feel anything more than mildly uncomfortable until afterwards. What is most astounding is that Nabokov, when writing the book, couldn’t even speak fluent English – of Russian heritage, he managed to write a novel that is now regarded as one of the most influential classic novel ever.

Words by Beth Butterworth

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