Awe and exhilaration—along with heartbreak and mordant wit—abound in Lolita, Nabokov's most famous and controversial novel, which tells the story of the aging Humbert Humbert's obsessive, devouring, and doomed passion for the nymphet Dolores Haze. Lolita is also the story of a hypercivilized European colliding with the cheerful barbarism of postwar America. Most of all, it is a meditation on love—love as outrage and hallucination, madness and transformation.
Download and start listening now!
"The story is uncomfortable, the prose is incredible. Every time I sat down to read I felt the urge to jump up and take a shower, feeling so disgustingly violated, but the point of view draws you in despite making your skin crawl." — Casie (4 out of 5 stars)
"The story is uncomfortable, the prose is incredible. Every time I sat down to read I felt the urge to jump up and take a shower, feeling so disgustingly violated, but the point of view draws you in despite making your skin crawl."
The only convincing love story of our century.
Lolita is an authentic work of art which compels our immediate response and serious reflection–a revealing and indispensable comedy of horrors.
The conjunction of a sense of humor with a sense of horror [results in] satire of a very special kind, in which vice or folly is regarded not so much with scorn as with profound dismay and a measure of tragic sympathy…The reciprocal flow of irony gives to both the characters and their surroundings the peculiar intensity of significance that attends the highest art.
Intensely lyrical and wildly funny.
Lolita blazes with a perversity of a most original kind. For Mr. Nabokov has distilled from his shocking material hundred-proof intellectual farce…Lolita seems an assertion of the power of the comic spirit to wrest delight and truth from the most outlandish materials. It is one of the funniest serious novels I have ever read; and the vision of its abominable hero, who never deludes or excuses himself, brings into grotesque relief the cant, the vulgarity, and the hypocritical conventions that pervade the human comedy.
" very strange and i only read it because so many had and i had heard talk about it all my life. it was different from any thing i ahd ever read and though it was well written i would not enjoy any more like it. "
" Amazing. One of my favorite books. "
" An extremely well-crafted and well-written book but so difficult to read due to its subject matter. Evansville, Indiana readers should recognize a reference to the monkey ship at Mesker Zoo. "
" What a classic work by Nabokov "
" Lolita is well-written. It creates empathy in ways that most rational people would imagine to be impossible. The character development, narrative, plot, and theme are all commendable. "
" I wouldn't read it again if I had to. It was really good in the writing, but the story was really boring. "
" Disturbing, funny, disturbing, heart wrenching, disturbing. "
" Oh, Nabokov... "
" No dressing it up, Humbert Humbert is a paedophile. "
" A very different story told in a very poetic manner but sometimes it becomes too much descriptive... "
" Actually, I never finished this. I'm sure it's great literature, just upset me too much to get very far, like in a slimy, skin-prickley way. "
" I guess I wanted to confirm that this book was mostly just sick. I did find it interesting, and the author/character is exceptionally well read - lots of references I didn't get.Also: I need to work on my French. "
" A classic, in my mind, that puts a unique spin on a controversial issue. This book opened up my eyes and mind. "
" I was trying hard to focus on the freedom of speech and rebellion of social acceptance because in the background my head was screaming “WHAT THE FUCK!!!” "
" One of my favourites. The writing is just so great you forget all about the perverted premise. I want to breathe Nabokov, the writing is so punny, clever, and humourous as well. "
" This book will make you rethink your morals. "
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (1889–1977) was one of the most prolific writers and literary critics of the twentieth century. Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, he grew up in a trilingual household and later studied Slavic and romance languages at Trinity College, Cambridge, taking his honors degree in 1922. For the next eighteen years he lived in Berlin and Paris, writing prolifically in Russian under the pseudonym “Sirin” and supporting himself through translations, lessons in English and tennis, and by composing the first crossword puzzles in Russian. Having already fled Russia and Germany, Nabokov became a refugee once more in 1940 when he was forced to leave France for the United States. There he taught at Wellesley, Harvard, and Cornell. He died in Montreux, Switzerland.
Jeremy Irons is one of fewer than a dozen actors to have won the Triple Crown of Acting: an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony award, with a Golden Globe thrown in for good measure. His distinctive, haunting voice has seen him cast as the villain in many a movie, though his abundant work in both film and theater has garnered him many leading roles as well. Among his many film credits are Kingdom of Heaven, Being Julia, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Lion King, and Die Hard 3: With a Vengeance.
Audiobooks Were Restored to Your Cart
[ShoppingCartItemsAddedOnMerge] audiobook(s) were left in your cart from a previous visit, and saved to your account for your convenience. You may view or remove these audiobooks on the shopping cart page.