I don’t like writing reviews on well-known, oft-reviewed books. So I’ll keep this one short. Lolita is great. Nabokov crafts his words with great care and skill, making warm, enveloping sentences and clever word games. He has an uncanny ability to make Humbert Humbert both monstrous and sympathetic, which creates a sense of unease in the reader. And the story is simple but profound. It is not an easy book to read, but it is definitely a great book. Like the title character herself, Lolita the book is both difficult and beautiful. More people should read it, because it’s not the book a lot of people think it is.

(And as a comment specifically on the audiobook version: Jeremy Irons is a perfect choice to read this book. He’s got the range to convey all of Humbert’s emotions, and a very pleasant voice. The production is top-notch.)