My take on Lolita

I love this Book a lot. It is true that the whole topic is strange, immoral, and even creepy to an extent, but what I really admire about this book is its reality. I love the way Nabokov gives HH a real soul. I have found myself many times reading an account in a work of literature, and thinking " that is not possible, no one would ever do that!" Not all works are meant to be replicas of reality, but if felt that Lolita went deeper than reality. It went to the true deep honest feelings, where regardless of its morality, the objective is to tell the truth and only the truth. I so much adore the part at the beginning of Lolita when Valeria leaves HH for another man. His reaction to me was amazing because you could feel it, and you know he was not hiding anything from you or himself.

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"I sat with arms folded, on one hip on the window sill, dying of hate and boredom. At last both were out of the quivering apartment-the vibration of the door I had slammed after them still rang in my every nerve, a poor substitute for the backhand slap with which I ought to have hit her across the cheekbone according to the rules of the movies."

His pain, helplessness, and sheer frustration can be felt right from the get go. I guess what I am trying to say is although in society, we see some of HH feelings, like the way he feels when describing Lolita, as abnormal, the way he reacts to his everyday life seems so natural. When you read a work of literature, there is always this bookish, fabricated after taste that many posses, and through some sort of skill which I stand in admiration of, Nabokov was able to sieve this flaw out of the entire book.

I also love the Idea of HH's little notebook. The fact that he feels a need to write down what is happening, but writes it in a way that only he can read it, and in the end, he destroys it. The Idea of keeping a diary is something I still can not fully understand. Why write thoughts so secret that you will rather die than let anyone know about it, in a place where with a little patience can be easily found. I tried keeping a diary once, but even though it had a lock, I never put any of my deepest darkest secrets in them. It always felt like I was writing to someone, that eventually someone would end up reading it.

Its weird, but HH's honesty with us, made me think of the observations we right down for this class. Having to be honest with yourself regardless the outcome is something I think is difficult, and it requires a keen eye and strength. It is hard to be honest about one's self, but to be able to create another person, and be honest for that person, requires great skill (or so it seems), and for that, Nobokov deserves praise.