Lolita And "Classics"

I just finished Lolita. I read it because Nabakov is Tisher's favorite writer and it's his most famous book. After some reflection I will say it is the second worst book I've ever read, behind The Marbled Swarm. The first twenty pages are all eloquent yet repulsive descriptions of the the sensual and alluring nature of a 9 year old.

The book is incredibly written, some of the best craft I've ever read, but the story itself is a trashy bore. Pages upon pages of flowery and hyper specific description of a grown man's perverse and repugnant obsession with viewing specific girls between the ages of 8 and 14 as sex objects. Regardless of how well it's written the book is told through the voice of this sick, deviant, slimy, serial rapist. Humbert Humbert's interworkings, his justifications, his history, the way he views the world are immaterial. I do not care why he does the deplorable things he does. Intrinsically he is a character that holds no empathy, no sympathy, and therefore no interest.

The other issue is the meandering nature of the narrative. Ultimately not much happens and the little action that takes place is deflated by the long descriptive digressions that are taken before, after, and during anything that could be termed an actual event. I will say there were a couple passages that really struck me, one in particular about Lolita playing tennis may be one of the most terrific things I have ever read. But the vivid and poetic prose- the potential- is totally squandered.

I don't really understand why Lolita is deemed a classic and why it is so lauded. Maybe at the time of its release the subject matter was so revolutionary as to inflame conservative minds and push the boundaries of free speech and propriety. At the time it was new and cutting edge, totally original. But through the lens of time it strikes me as what it was accused of being by its initial detractors- smut.

On the whole I don't agree with certain books being taught and heralded as classics based on their literary importance and impact on the time period in which they were written. Great Expectations, The Great Gatsby, Catcher In The Rye etc. don't hold up. These books, and I would include Lolita among them, certainly have a place in history but not in the literary pantheon.

It is more important to seek out the writing and stories that personally resonate as opposed to paying homage to those works that incited folks decades even centuries past.