Book Review-Lolita

I wish that I were on better terms with the people from my office. Well, not all of them. Mostly just Matt. See, Dan never made any secret about the fact that the assistants were "less" then him. We were there to do his bidding, and he was upset when we didn't jump when he called. I remember one instance where I was doing something for Jean on another office computer because my computer was not working. She had a client there and was shouting things at me to put on an addendum that I was creating.

All of a sudden, Dan walks in with a client and is like "you need to move. I need to write an offer with my client." And I flat out said NO. I said I'm sorry, but no, I'm doing something for Jean and I'll be done in a minute. He was baffled. His client was standing right there. HOW DARE I!? He said to me, "I have a client right here, and I need to write and offer NOW. You need to give me the computer." And I said, "I'm sorry, but Jean is in the other room with a client as well. She is shouting things at me. Can you hear her? I'll be done in just a minute"

Well, he later complained to Jean that I was RUDE to him in front of a client. Jean actually brought it up to me to tell me how I was a bad person. And I told her that I would do it again if given the chance. Because I would rather have Dan mad at me then Jean. Basically, he was upset that I said no to him AND in front of a client. He thought that he would walk in and boss me around and show his client what a big wang he has. He was wrong. I cock blocked him and he was pissed. That's just a little example of how he didn't respect me and how he thought I was there to be bossed around.

So that's how Dan thinks of us assistants. And you all know how Jean feels about assistants: Disposable. Once she gets tired/upset with you over some imagined wrong you have done to her you are on her s*** list and on your way out. But Matt was never like that. Matt was usually very respectful to the assistants. He would thank us for things that we did. He wouldn't assume we were there to serve him. He was pretty nice.

I actually considered him a friend. I should've realized that his ties were much stronger to Jean then to me. Even though she talks about him behind his back and tells people private things about his life, he still feels tied to her. Maybe he doesn't know she does this, but I'm sure he suspects it. I mean, she does it to everyone else, why would he be any different?

Anyway, this little trip down nausea lane was with the point of saying this: I'm sad I'm still not friends with Matt. Matt and I would talk about books all the time. One of his wife's favorite authors was Marquez, who is my favorite author. And for the longest time he kept trying to get me to read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. I wanted to read it, but I never got around to it. (And I wasn't going to read it until I finished 100 Years of Solitude). But then at the library I stumbled upon it and decided now was the time to read it.

I SHOULD'VE READ IT YEARS AGO!!!! This book is amazing. Breathtaking even. See Nabokov (as you might have guessed) is Russian. And English is his third language, after Russian and French, but he wrote this book all in English. And it's AMAZING. I can't gush enough about how much I loved this book.

Let me tell you right off, the book is not for casual readers. You must be invested. And you should know what it's about: a pedophile. See the narrator is a man in his late 30's (nearly 40) who falls in love with and has a relationship with a 12 year old girl. Yeah, like I said, it's not for casual readers. H.H. (the narrator calls himself. Short for Humbert Humbert) has always had a thing for little girls. He calls them "nymphets" and he seeks them out. Usually it was just to look at them, dream about them, imagine what they would look like up close. But then he becomes a border at a house where a woman has this daughter. Her name is Dolores. Or Dolly. Or Lo. Or Lolita.

And he's obsessed with her. He dreams about her and spending his life with her and how she would make him so happy. But her mom is always around (GOOD FOR YOU, MOM!!!) and so he can hardly ever talk to her. After a series of strange/tragic/funny/impractical and yet shocking events happen, her mom is out of the picture and they are all alone in the world. That's where it gets bad.

You should know this book is not vulgar in the general sense of the word. There are no graphic words, no horrible language depicting lurid acts. But the acts are there, and the way he alludes to them makes it clear what he's trying to tell you. And then you realize what has just happened, and you are appalled. They are horrible things, but Nabokov just puts it so dang beautifully! Dang him and his genius of prose. Anyway, back to H.H. The fact that he rationalizes his actions and thinks that they have a RELATIONSHIP shows just how delusional he really is.

But this book is BEAUTIFUL. I cannot gush enough about how much I loved it. How much I loved the language, the style, the humor. It really is a funny book. I laughed out loud several times especially at the end. The end is especially funny. But I keep coming back to the language. It's so amazing. And again, knowing that he wrote it in his THIRD language is so crazy. I mean, I don't think half of the writers these days could write a sentence HALF as beautiful as him, and they have lived here all their lives.

I think that this is a great American novel. Which is funny because back in the mid 1950's when it was written one publisher wouldn't publish it because he said it was "anti-American." Uh, are you crazy? Almost 50% of the book talks about the different sites and scenes of the America few people know. It is brilliant in every way.

Let me just give you a little example of the style of Nabokov's writing: "A thunderstorm accompanied me most of the way back to Grimm Road, but when I reached Pavor Manor, the sun was visible again, burning like a man, and the birds screamed in the drenched and steaming trees."

HOLY CRAP!! HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THAT STUFF??? Just gorgeous. I think everyone needs to read this book. Especially if you love writing, and you want to learn how to be a better writer. This book is the Mecca of writing.

So anyway, I loved this book. Go read it. It's for everyone. As a matter of fact, as I was in the car coming back from our cabin, my mom asked me about it, and I told her the premise. I was about 75 pages from the end, and she wanted to read it with me. We read it out loud all the way home and then she HID it from me so I couldn't find it and read the end without her. Now THAT is dedication to a book. And you know what? My mom is a total prude. If she loved it that much, then I'm sure you will too.

It's just too bad Matt and I can't talk about it.