Friday, August 18, 2006

Happy Birthday, Lolita!


It was on this day in 1955 that Lolita was published. It was finally published in the U.S. in 1958. The scan on the left is of the copy of the first paperback edition. I bought it in 1959, and it's been part of my library ever since. I probably bought it because I'd heard it was scandalous, but I quickly discovered that it was a wonderfully written novel. Probably somewhere around page 1. I've read it only once since 1959, so it might be time for me to delve into it again.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, Bill. I'm a regular reader here, but almost missed this post because of deadline craziness. However, Maria Lima knows of my great passion for "Lolita" and sent me this way. I've read it at least a dozen times and strongly recommend the annotated version, although perhaps not for your second read. Maybe the third? Some of the notes are a bit thin, but Alfred Appel's tracing of the various clues to Lolita's "abductor" are worth the price of admission.

There's also an audio version of Lolita read by Jeremy Irons, which may be greatest audio version of any book, ever.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the tips, Laura. A great book, indeed.