'Lolita' has a pretty firm place in our cultural mindset. It's the story of an older man, Humbert Humbert, who seduces a teenager. He works things so that she actually crosses the line but he's obviously the one at fault. After the seduction they go on the lam. The biggest surprise for me is that this is actually an 'open road' book.
The book is interesting in that it doesn't sympathize with Humbert. He explains what he feels but he doesn't ask the reader to follow along with him. He is interesting, almost poetic in a way. He's also creepy and one of the most manipulative characters that I've ever read. You can't trust his narration, must always be reading between the lines.
It's a great book and well worth the read. The theme is obviously adult though not graphically so. Nabakov is a very interesting author. I enjoyed this a bit more than 'Pale Fire' but both of them were great.
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