Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Okay another "classic". I actually listed to this as an audio book. I was never quite sure if I was going to finish it until the last two out of 10 CDs. It was a deeply disturbing book. I think everyone knows the premise of the story. Basically its about a pedophile. But really it was so much complex than that. His "Lolita" was very disturbed before she met him it seemed. The poor girl really needed help and instead she got Humbert.

I had this on my TBR mainly because it had been banned at one point and I wanted to see why. There wasn't anything explicit about the book, no sexual scenes, so it must have been the subject matter. I'll be honest I could have lived my life without reading this. It was very disturbing on so many levels.

And the main character of Humbert did have some redeeming qualities. Not enough, but some. I believe it was the guilt of his thoughts that led him to the insane asylums prior to meeting Lolita. And of course I believe it was the guilt that led to his insanity after losing her.

It was a very well written book about a very disturbing subject. Humbert truly loved Lolita, but his love was so dark and she was so young. My main problem in getting through the book was when they would use french and not translate it. I felt I missed part of the story by not understanding those parts.

So overall I would say it was okay. I think probably it was an excellent book because it did disturb me so much. However its not a book I would readily recommend.