Awe and exhiliration--along with heartbreak and mordant wit--abound in Lolita, Nabokov's most famous and controversial novel, which tells the story of the aging Humbert Humbert's obsessive, devouring, and doomed passion for the nymphet Dolores Haze. Lolita is also the story of a hypercivilized European colliding with the cheerful barbarism of postwar America. Most of all, it is a meditation on love--love as outrage and hallucination, madness and transformation.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Amazon.com 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 Library Journal
This unabridged edition of Nabokov's classic story about a middle-aged, expatriate European man's obsessive love for a 12-year-old girl?which is being released to coincide with director Adrian Lyne's new film version?is a beautifully produced recording that pushes the boundaries of the audio medium. While Lolita continues to raise the hackles of would-be censors even today, most listeners will marvel at the restraint and playful humor with which Nabokov limns his tale. Narrator Jeremy Irons, who plays Humbert Humbert in Lyne's film, is an uncompromising audiobook reader whose performances on cassette are as laudatory as his Academy AwardR-winning work on the silver screen. This landmark release is highly recommended for all library collections.?Mark Annichiarico, "Library Journal" Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Description:
Awe and exhiliration--along with heartbreak and mordant wit--abound in Lolita, Nabokov's most famous and controversial novel, which tells the story of the aging Humbert Humbert's obsessive, devouring, and doomed passion for the nymphet Dolores Haze. Lolita is also the story of a hypercivilized European colliding with the cheerful barbarism of postwar America. Most of all, it is a meditation on love--love as outrage and hallucination, madness and transformation.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Amazon.com 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 Library Journal
This unabridged edition of Nabokov's classic story about a middle-aged, expatriate European man's obsessive love for a 12-year-old girl?which is being released to coincide with director Adrian Lyne's new film version?is a beautifully produced recording that pushes the boundaries of the audio medium. While Lolita continues to raise the hackles of would-be censors even today, most listeners will marvel at the restraint and playful humor with which Nabokov limns his tale. Narrator Jeremy Irons, who plays Humbert Humbert in Lyne's film, is an uncompromising audiobook reader whose performances on cassette are as laudatory as his Academy AwardR-winning work on the silver screen. This landmark release is highly recommended for all library collections.?Mark Annichiarico, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.