My local Bookcrossing meetup group has formed a book club and we are reading a book together each month. Last month we read this book, and I honestly can't say whether I liked it or not. This is the story of Humbert Humbert, a handsome European man (in his 30's if my memory serves me right), who is boarding in America with a widow (about his age) and her daughter, and who falls in love with the daughter - a 12-year-old girl. The obsession he has with this girl seems to stem from a sexually frustrated first love affair he had when he was a boy, in which he fell in love with a young girl and she died before they could start exploring any sexual avenues. Nabakov is billed by critics worldwide as a literary genius, and this book is loved by critics and described as a "beautiful love story" by many of them. The critics seem to have a lot of sympathy for Humbert's character. I personally had sympathy for the young girl! Perhaps I'm just not refined enough to appreciate the "beauty" of pedophilia. Anyway, I found the story itself rather disgusting, but Nabakov's prose beautiful in style. So there you are. Judge it for yourself.

By the way - the picture is not the same cover as this book. The cover of this copy is much creepier - a picture of a school girl from the waist down, wearing a flaired skirt about 3 inches above the knee and bobby socks and saddle oxfords.

Mailing to Gelibeli today in a trade. Happy Reading!

Got the book in the mail on Thursday from nancyluvsbooks! Thanks so much! :)