Lolita

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
April’s classic novel; although The Old Curiosity Shop is sitting on my bedside table like a neglected middle child. Ah, well, I only feel slightly guilty about that.

Reading Lolita, however …. I’m simultaneously seduced by the language and horrified by the content, if that makes sense. I want to soak in Nabakov’s words at the same time as I feel the urge to scrub myself down in a scalding hot bath with a bristle brush and lye soap.

So as I’m reading it, I’m completely torn.

I’m also noticing, with this year of classics, that my reading slows down. I’m racing through almost everything else on my reading list, but the classics … I’m slowing down and savouring the words more. It’s a bit like taking a deep breath in the middle of a really busy day – you only slow down for a minute, but sometimes, that’s enough.