If you happen to be reading Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita in a public
place, be ready for reactions from others which
may run the gamut from
rapturous enthusiasm to absolute disgust. Readers with no experience of the
novel tend to assume that it is no more than low-grade smut -- but nothing
could be further from the truth. Nabokov's novel details the story of Humbert
Humbert, a displaced European who comes to the home of Charlotte Haze, a
middle-aged widow, seeking room and board. Although he finds Charlotte
herself to be absolutely insufferable, H.H. is immediately smitten with her
teenage daughter Dolores, and joins the household. He quickly begins to
fantasize about the nymphet girl (whom he nicknames Lolita) and savors
every momentary affectionate gesture from the girl.
Instead of winning her
love, he manages instead to win the preference of her mother, Charlotte, and
after momentary revulsion, Humbert turns the situation -- Charlotte's love --
to his advantage. After an unusual turn of events H.H. finds himself in the
enviable and trying position of being Lolita's sole
guardian. The two set off on
a long and event-filled road trip across the country, with Humbert as Lolita's
guardian, captor, and lover simultaneously. What follows between them is at
times painful, comedic, and even heartbreaking. Nabokov's brilliant prose and
expert storytelling give the reader a sympathetic view of Humbert, despite his
many horrific crimes. The novel is a delicate exploration on the meanings of
love and lust, and on the nature of obsession. This was Nabokov's first foray
into writing in the English language, and his master of it is breathtaking. You
will want to read it again and again.