March Book Club Meeting Notes

Six of us made it to March's meeting, hosted by Jen, to discuss Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov. Rather surprisingly, given the subject matter, everyone enjoyed this title. All agreed it was very well-written; there was a short discussion of Nabokov's technique and whether it outshone the book itself. (No consensus on that.) And we all enjoyed Nabokov's completely rendered characterizations of even minor characters such as Gaston and Charlotte.

We all found ourselves surprised by our sympathy for Humbert, and Jen and Shirley particularly uncomfortable to be in Humbert's head. There was a lot of discussion about Lolita and her motives. Carole remarked that Lolita was atypical of most girls that age at that time, and felt Lolita was predisposed to behave outside of the norm. Kathleen added that Lolita may not have been outside the norm, but she was certainly allowed to act on her impulses without any restraint. We all admired the way Nabokov planted doubt on our minds about whether or not Lolita was to blame for the situation with Humbert. Janet mentioned that Lolita was very controlling, and questioned whether Lolita thought she had more control than she actually did. The scene on the couch early in the book sparked a spirited discussion of Lolita's motives and manipulations: did she know what she was doing, even then?

Everyone thought this story could not have been written now, with our heightened awareness of pedophilia. (Also, many of the plot twists would no longer work as written--it would be very difficult for Humbert and Lolita to go on the lam in the internet age). Everyone agreed that the subject matter serves the story without going too far, and that this is more the story of Humbert's obsession with Lolita than the pornographic romp it is generally thought to be. We all agreed that Humbert is a very complicated character, and impossible to pinpoint. Betty particularly enjoyed the buildup of suspense, as did Kathleen (who nearly drove off the road while listening to the audiobook description--narrated by Jeremy Irons--of the demise of Charlotte). Janet pointed out that Humbert believes himself to be completely justified in everything he has done. Jen agreed, adding that Humbert believes he has no choice other than to behave as he does, but she was disappointed that he receives no comeuppance for his relationship with Lolita.

One of the last points discussed was a question put by Jen as to whether part of the controversy surrounding the book is caused by Lolita's winding up so normal. Betty, Carole and Shirley all reminded us that at that time, such things were not discussed openly, and help-seeking behavior would not have been as common as it is today. Betty also felt that Lolita took all the events of her adolescence more or less in stride, with no idea of their enormity, and this may have been why she turned out relatively unscathed.