LOLITA BY VLADIMIR NABOKOV

 

LOLITA

Gosh, this was a difficult one to get through. Why? Read on..

“Is what we read guided by our conscience or desire? Or both? What if one says yes and the other says no?”

Lolita is the first book for which I felt this conflict arise between my conscience and my desire. Desire won and I transferred it from my Amazon cart to my dorm after (childish) consideration that enjoying a book is not a reflection of our own morals, character, or values. Of course, we all know this. We heartily enjoy reading books revolving around themes which we know is wrong – such as murder – many of them narrated by the murderers themselves - and conscience doesn’t come into play at all. So, enjoying it is not the same as endorsing it. So, why should this be any different, right?

Of all the books I’ve read till date, this one has got the sweetest syllabic title and the opening line…

“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin. My soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking the trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.

She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita.”

…feels so catchy and lovely, right? If the very first line gives you the impression of an erotica, be assured that it’s not.

Lolita is a controversial tale of madness, obsession, desperation, ruin, despair, betrayal, sin, and regret. Of love – the forbidden kind. It is the story of (and narrated by) one Humbert Humbert(sic.), a 35 year old man who is intensely attracted towards female minors – “nymphets” as he calls them. During his visit to the town of Ramsdale, New England, he’s introduced to Dolores Haze, a 12 year old “nymphet” and falls in love with her. He goes as far as to marry Dolly’s mother, Mrs. Haze (widowed) with the sole prospect of being near and getting his hands on little Dolores. Mrs. Haze eventually discovers his contrivances but unfortunately dies before she could do anything to thwart his schemes, leaving Dolly at the mercy of H.H. The story goes on to convey that Humbert loves Dolly very sincerely, and ardently. But fate (McFate) has more in store for him.

You’d be wincing for a considerable part of the book, if you can’t side-line your conscience for a while. Vladimir Nabokov very artistically, beautifully, and poetically constructs the whole “sorry and sordid business”. And it’s amazing how such a beautiful tale can be woven, so magnificently and meticulously presented around such a squalid theme. Even then for some part, Lolita is not a comfortable read. And quite frankly, it should never be a comfortable read.

Lolita takes you inside the mind of a pedophile. Makes you see and imagine things that you otherwise wouldn’t have imagined of imagining. So, in order to relish (that is if you want to) Humbert’s tale, you need to bear with Humbert while you’re reading it. This originality is perhaps what makes Lolita stand out. Because of its excellent prose, Lolita is today considered a significant piece of English literature. Only thing that peeved me in this book is the very frequent use of French, sometimes Latin and German terms – for every time I had to look it up on Translate. Although, I’ve gathered some readers admire it.

If you decide to read it, there’s one thing I’d like to tell you. As I have mentioned earlier, side-line your conscience for a while. Try to read it till the end as a neutral reader, else you’ll be likely to DNF it mid-way with disgust. Or will you? Happy reading!!

An alternate cover I found online - cute.

 

-Nishant Sharma

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