Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov.

'Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul.'

Lolita, possibly an interesting choice for any read. The only thing most people know about Lolita is that it is about a paedophile. Whilst this is true it is, nevertheless a good read. Fascinating and yet repellent. It challenges the reader's morality with a well spoken, unassuming older man and an abrasive apparently seductive 12 year old. When reading it is hard to feel entirely unsympathetic with the protagonist Humbert Humbert. He appeals to the audience with a flawed narrative of his feelings for, and eventual abandonment by, Lolita. 

Perhaps one of the most interesting things about Lolita is the reception. Nabokov found it hard to find any publisher for the novel and after it was banned from his own country he finally published it for the first time in France. It mainly found repute in literary circles but was widely condemned as porn. Possibly due to this reputation Lolita began to be seen as an 'underground' text and soon the French government was asked to ban it by the British government due to the importation levels of Lolita. Lolita remains to this day banned in a lot of educational institutes and is derided as perverted by a great many of the general public.

I read the book to early to understand the repercussions of the text, I secreted it away from the 6th form only section of the school library at 13 and was unaware of the furore surrounding it. I'd like to think this gave me a completely open mind to the issues raised by the book. However, my ignorance was such that I wasn't aware enough of the issues raised to form or reform any opinions. I read the narrative as absolute truth and, too young to give a critical reading, I believed everything Humbert Humbert said and grew to dislike the character Lolita for running away and breaking the 'Hero's' heart. The wrong viewpoint as I have come to discover upon a second reading. My knowledge of the issue of paedophilia has almost completely tarred Humbert, almost being the operative word. A little sympathy remains despite the strong feelings against Humbert and his feelings for Lolita. This book makes you question your assumptions, makes you think about your motivation and consider changing your opinions.

It is a challenging book and it challenges the reader to think about why they hold opinions and the empathy they can have for people even if they think they are completely wrong.