Lolita - Hardcover

Vladimir Nabokov

3.88

849,192 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0517388081 ISBN 13: 9780517388082

Publisher: Greenwich House, 1982

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This is the novel that first established Nabokov's reputation with a large audience tour-de-force of comic satire on sex and the American ways of life.

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Review:

Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita triggers a deep conflict within the American psyche about crossing the line between love and the perverse lust for a child. In the bestselling audiobook, Jeremy Irons delivers a smooth, calculating presentation of Humbert Humbert, the middle-aged man obsessed with a 13-year-old girl named Lolita. Following a failed marriage to a "large, puffy, short-legged, big-breasted and practically brainless baba," Humbert decides to move to America to work as a tutor. Much to his dismay, his plans change and he moves into a boarding house in Ramsdale, New Hampshire. But his disappointment quickly fades after he realizes he lives next door to the "light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul Lo-li-ta." The relationship blossoms between the man "with a cesspool of rotting monsters behind his slow boyish smile" and the sassy, vivacious young girl.

The Russian-born author has amazing control of the English language--his jaw-dropping prose comes through powerfully on this audiotape (though some scholars believe the novel symbolizes Nabokov's internal struggle with the English language). Regardless of whether you condemn or condone the classic, listening to this audio rendition is a must. --Gina Kaysen (Running time: 11.5 hours)

From the Publisher:

Critics are just beginning to hail Jeremy Irons' performance for Random House AudioBooks...

"a road trip to hell in a luxury sedan."
--Salon Magazine

"In his reading Irons recreates the clarity, precision, and lilt of every glorious sentence."
--The Washington Post

"Nabokov said Lolita was the record of his love affair with the English language; Irons makes it a menage a trois."
-- Vogue

"[Irons's] efforts have placed this superb audio on my life list, to be saved for repeated listening."
--Boston Globe

" . . . most praiseworthy of all the audio efforts I've heard . . ."
-- Men's Journal

"Irons' inspired reading is not to be missed."
-- Chicago Tribune

"...a beautifully produced recording that pushes the boundaries of the audio medium.
. . . hands down the best audio production of the year."
-- Library Journal

"Irons reads with wickedly understated malevolence, preserving Humbert's foolish patrician airs. The artfulness of the telling is delightful, with all its stilted false humility. For those who have never read the book, or read it long ago, the subject matter of a man in love with a child will come across as a fresh shock indeed."
-- Publishers Weekly

"an extraordinary reading, almost haunting."
--The San Diego Union Tribune

" . . . extrordinary - more than extraordinary."
--BookPage

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