Reviewed by Nevaeh Gair
Love and lust, adoration and obsession, innocence and guilt. In the racy and highly controversial novel Lolita , such passionate actions are known to have little boundaries when they take over the emotions, thoughts, and behavior of even the most level-headed people.
In the novel by Vladmir Nobokov, the tale of Humbert Humbert’s battle against such feelings is portrayed in the inappropriate relationship he has with his underage stepdaughter, Dolores. A test of morals is given both to Humbert and to the readers as both dive into Humbert’s not-so-masked pedophilia and the sexual tension that exudes from the novel. It is in the narration of Humbert, a charming and smooth man under Nobokov’s control, that readers lose themselves somewhere in between the lines of several good versus bad narratives.
Lolita is a charming and enticing book that will grab you tightly from beginning to end. I personally found myself questioning the morals of the characters, the author, and even myself. What is wrong? What is acceptable? When do those cease to have importance? These questions and many more rise in your mind and remain there long after you finish the novel. I would recommend it to anyone who can handle it.
Nevaeh Gair was a junior in the Gifted program at Hahnville High. She enjoys writing poetry and reading thrillers.
Editor’s note: Book reviews are published throughout the summer and fall in agreement with Hahnville High School gifted English teacher Deborah Unger in conjunction with the Brown Foundation Service Learning Program and Unger’s “Adolescents Advocate Literacy” Brown Service Learning Grant.
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