http://www.signal-online.net/home/news/2009/02/18/Entertainment/After.Years.Of.Brainwashing.These.Are.The.Classics.We.Liked-3634459.shtml
After years of brainwashing, these are the classics we liked
By Caroline Russomanno and Jessica Dorio
[ ... ]
"Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov
Jess: A 12-year-old girl is continuously raped by a 40-year-old man, referred to as Humbert, in the 1940s. Sounds like an absolutely horrible topic for a book, right? Well, somehow Nabokov turns this taboo subject into a freaking awesome exploration of the human psyche. It's not so much the storyline that draws the reader in as it is the style used to convey it. Written from Humbert's perspective, Nabokov's persuasive language convinces the reader that Lolita is a cruel temptress and that Humbert is a helpless victim. Reading this book proved to me that classics don't have to be dry and boring but can in fact be quite shocking. Some perceive it as a story of perverted lust. Others see it as one of all-consuming love. It is Nabokov's duplicitous language, which illicits such wide-ranging interpretations, that has made this novel a classic, as well as one of my all-time favorite books.
Join Carrie and Jess next week when they talk about TV's most underrated shows. Caroline Russomanno can be reached at russoma4@tcnj.edu.
