Never in my life did I want to read Lolita. If you know what it’s about, you’ll know why. I had zero interest in the thing and to hear it called “The only convincing love story of our century.” —Vanity Fair makes me sick! Also, the timing of all this doesn’t quite work with the disgusting current events in the United States this week. But then I found it- The Real Story of Lolita. After discovering it was based on a true story I had to know more (Plus, there really are so many literary references to Lolita…). The book came in, I read a few pages, and I knew I had to do the thing. I had to read Lolita. It was a If You Give A Mouse A Cookie situation and I caved.
I fell in love. Not with the plot, but with the way Nabokov designed and wrote it- the point of view. The story is told from the point of view of Humbert Humbert and he flashes back and forth between life in prison and retelling the events involving Lolita. After providing some background information on his upbringing, H.H. discusses his life’s passion. In an attempt to pursue his dreams (if we can call them that), H.H. befriends a family with a pre-teen daughter and asks to stay in their home. After arriving at the train station, he learns the family’s house has burned down and he is forced to stay at another woman’s home. All seems lost until he discovers that this woman has a young daughter as well.
In the novel, H.H. shares how he built a web of control around the home of his “nymphet” and yet the narration, the words he selects to tell his story, also attempts to control readers. You can see through every line he gives you. As reader, you must figure out what’s true and what’s not. You must see the truth through the presentation- the circus if you will. As a reader, you yourself begin to feel controlled. It’s absolutely genius.
And now for the true story. The Real Story of Lolita by Sarah Weinman shares of the 1948 abduction of Sally Horner. After being dared to steal a notebook from a store, she is caught by Frank La Salle who informs her that he is an FBI agent. He told her that he’d let her go that day, but he would find her in the future. He kept his word and crimes of horror ensued.
Sarah Weinman flows between the real story and the novel as she illuminates evidence that Nabokov knew about the true case and included aspects of it in his novel. I found it very interesting because there are more connections than I ever thought.