"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins." So starts this infamous and controversial novel by Nabokov, now regarded by many as literature and indeed a masterpiece. Nabokov's most famous work is told by the main character, Humbert Humbert. Humbert Humbert is a European who has emigrated to America. He rents a room at the house of Charlotte Haze, and becomes obsessed by her young daughter, Dolores, to whom he refers as Lolita, and whom he calls a "nymphet". For those of you whom I hope to convince to read this novel, I will not give away the plot of this gripping story: these can be found, for those who need them, elsewhere. What is surprising, is that one feels compassion for this pervert and paedophile. He is often funny and always witty, and because, perhaps, he gives a description of his life as a child to the readers, it helps us to see that he was once 'normal' and that his life has gone tragically wrong for him. He is well-educated, literate and cultured, and the style with which he tells his story (which is set as a confession whilst he is in prison), makes him lovable. This is odd, because on reflection, one realises that he should be reviled, but he puts his desires across in a way that makes them seem less disgusting: this is what is so clever about the novel. Nabokov mixes emotions in a maelstrom in such an innovative manner that it is this that puts it among the modern greats. It is, ultimately, a classic love story: he loves her, and then loses her. It is so magnificent because it humanises such a sordid idea to modern society and does so to be, in places, genuinely comic. I would recommend it to anyone over the age of fourteen (the limit of age that Humbert believes a nymphet must be). It can be graphic, but only in a subtle and moving way: it certainly is erotica, but not as it has ever been seen before. So buy it, and enjoy!