"The Travelers"

kbullfrog

bad as in complicit, bad as in part of Humbert's stare at the nubile lolita, bad as in a bad person?
this is nabakov's greatest acheivement derived from the act of reading this book. he makes the reader feel part of the conspiracy of seducing lolita--we too are sexually aroused, interested, horrified--that we cannot remove ourselves from, and are forced to finish the book, in whole.

Ophelia · Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 9:34 am Post subject:

I wrote about this, quite a few weeks ago, saying that Humbert made me feel depressed.
We now have so many threads that I don't know where that post is!

giselle

Ophelia · Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 1:16 pm Post subject:

Giselle wrote:

realiz · Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 2:29 pm Post subject:

kbullfrog · Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 4:37 pm Post subject:

Firstly, response to Ophelia, i myself am a female. so lovely to see all our fellow females on here!

in response to realiz's reference to "white oleander", i think that there is this strange father oedipus complex when dealing with older men when one is a young adolescent. i do think lolita is a victim in this book, but nabakov has so subtly rendered his topic that you cant help but see it from his point of view....thus the complicity. i mean, humbert is the hero of the book, right? or is lolita?

Raving Lunatic · Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:06 pm Post subject:

I don't know if this book would even have a hero. To me, it is like a train wreck. You know you shouldn't watch but you just can't take your eyes away from it.

I too had some problems reading this book. Having been taking advantage of at a young age, it was kind of disturbing to read. However, I did make it through yesterday.

realiz · Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 1:39 pm Post subject:

Raving

kbullfrog · Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 6:40 pm Post subject:

yes, this book is very difficult to get through, hooray to all who persevered!
i apologize, but also commend, to those who had disagreeable experiences revisited because of this book, but i feel that we all must conquer our demons....not by necessarily looking at them head on, but to certainly be aware of the stigma that surrounds them....

our society is so incubated, we have to look around the rest of the world. grown men, old men, get married to young girls even today! it is true though that they would be cultural choices, not societal misfits like Humbert.

either way, this book still gets people talking, still has connotations like "Lady Chatterly's Lover" or "American Pshyco" as being a "bad" book....do you feel better for reading it, or is it like a bad movie you wished you had the price of admission back for?

giselle · Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 1:23 pm Post subject:

realiz · Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 2:17 pm Post subject:

kbullfrog · Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 3:36 pm Post subject:

Raving Lunatic · Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 9:35 am Post subject:

I did pick up some hesitation in Lolita's voice when she was talking to Humbert when he found her pregnant and married. It seemed more like she was annoyed with him though not filled with regret. I think in her mind she saw it as a need too at the moment and it was just a phase kind of attitude.
To me, the whole book really wanted you to feel sorry for Humbert. It was like him almost saying its not my fault. It's nature's. Whatever! She was twelve! You were supposed to be her caregiver. The "man' (I use this term loosely) who was supposed to make sure she grew up and became a responsible and productive member of society. She had to do that all on her own. It is sad when kids have to raise themselves. This theme seems to be a continuing one (kids raising themselves) I am now read Secret Garden and I am finding the same thing.

Ophelia · Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:33 am Post subject:

I certainly don't regret having read Lolita.
All the things you have written are true, but this is a novel, it's not about abused children or pedophilia-- and yes, I had to read the novel bit by bit because being inside Humbert's mind was hard to bear.

Here is a review I've just found.

" It (Lolita) failed to make the American Library Association's most recent Top 100 list of "Most Challenged Books" and, apart from some troubles (hilariously exaggerated by Nabokov) in finding an American publisher, really has had no significant problems

kbullfrog · Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 1:58 pm Post subject:

thank you ophelia for posting such an insightful excerpt--it is difficult to put these kind of reader feelings into words, but that certainly hit the mark. nabakov wrote about the one thing no one wants to admit happens in our society, but it so prevalent.


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"Brothers Kept Apart"

"The Travelers"