First published 1986
Humbert Humbert becomes obsessed with twelve year old Dolores Haze after marrying her mother. When the mother dies in an accident, Humbert takes custody of the girl he calls Lolita. He removes her from summer camp and begins a cross country journey, staying in motels while pursuing his illicit desires. The relationship between the middle aged European intellectual and his young charge grows increasingly complex as they travel from town to town. Humbert believes himself to be experiencing a great romance, but Lolita eventually escapes his control. Years later, she contacts him asking for money. Their final meeting leads Humbert to track down and murder the man who helped her flee. The novel presents itself as Humbert's confession, written while awaiting trial. Nabokov crafts a story about manipulation and abuse through the unreliable narration of a man who sees poetry where others see crime.
Genres: fiction, abuse, 20th-century, crime, adult-fiction, dark
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Mass Market Paperback · Berkley Books
Content warnings: abuse, pedophilia