done da-done done donnnnneee

I finished Lolita today. It actually did not end the way I thought it did, but it's just as well. It was a very enjoyable read, I have to say. One would think that in writing a story from the perspective of a character like this, he would make himself out to be the good guy, in a relatable and sympathetic fashion. But he doesn't glamorize it. He knows the extent to which what he did was socially unacceptable, to say the least. But he is not particularly apologetic about his behavior, for he was acting out of pure, almost otherworldly love, as unorthodox--and illegal--though it was. In one of the last pages of the book, he is talking about his Lolita saying "I looked and looked at her, and knew as clearly as I know I am to die, that I loved her more than anything I had ever seen or imagined on earth, or hoped for anywhere else." Vanity Fair is quoted on the front cover as saying "The only convincing love story of our century." I understand how it could be hard for a lot of people to not dismiss his story as a one of a creepy, disgusting pedophile who took advantage of a young girl. And it indeed is that very thing, but it is revealed at the end that his love for her was more than just a lust or infatuation for a child, but a pure, real and eternal love for a person that he takes with him to his grave. It is also clear that he is aware of his crime and ashamed of what he had done.

Anywho, I definitely recommend this book, though I think it is likely to be interpreted and accepted in many different ways by different people. I don't have my next book lined up, but chances are I will have one picked out before the night is done and will post about it tomorrow.