the one with the little girl

"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta; the tip of my tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta."

A novel by Vladimir Nabakov(incidentally, the novel was written in English and not in his mother tongue- Russian), Lolita is one-of-a-kind. The protagonist of the novel is a middle aged man, rather sober and ordinary; a scholar. A tragic romance and a failed marriage behind him, he lives his life quietly, absorbed in translating French Literature for English speaking students while nymphets fluttered in and out of his life. His contact limited to just viewing them in their play and chatter, Humbert Humbert categorizes dreams of possessing a nymphet(a nymph-like girl from the age of nine to 14) as a thing that might never come to pass. His life becomes a whirl when he lodges with Charlotte Haze and he meets Lolita, he loves Lolita at almost the same instant as he met her.

Lolita is neither beautiful nor clever; Humbert laments often about how, no matter how hard he tries, Lolita refuses to bend to his will and become a cultured 12 year old girl. But his love for her is magical and a far greater force than himself. He cant break free even though it becomes obvious that he has caused his nymphet to resent him and his torture of her body. Forced to grow up far before she is ready, Lolita rebels against Humbert and finally breaks free in a combination of circumstances that she didn't think would happen to her. Robbed of her childhood, her story is symbolic of ruin. She's pregnant at 18, married to a man who has no idea of the truth of her relationship with her 'father' and in love with a man who wants her only for monetary purposes.

Lolita is a love story; an obsessive twisted love that disgusts you and thrills you at the same time. Tales of a pedophile, no matter how beautiful and lyrical it is, cannot lose their stench. And even if Lolita, at moments, seems far older than she is, you can never truly forget the nature of their mangled relationship. The relationship is doomed to fail, you can hang on and read and almost sympathize with the pain Humbert feels when torn from his Lolita. And be thankful in the end that even though Humbert manages to reach out to her again, she is far beyond his reach and no longer the four foot seven nymphet with the tanned limbs, the impish grin and the silky bronze hair. Heartbroken and resentful, Humbert drives himself to his ruin and finally with blood on his hands, writes the story of his life - his biggest love, his guilt and his attempt to relive a childish romance that ended before its time.

"...and this is the only immortality that you and I might share, my Lolita."