Lolita
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokovby Vladimir Nabokov
Shares rank 53 of 122 novels by recommenders
Recommended for its unreliable narrator, its handling of a controversial subject, and its prose. One critic found the appeal hard to see.
Recommended for its unreliable narrator, its handling of a controversial subject, and its prose. One critic found the appeal hard to see.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 80%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Unreliable narrator held in contempt
“the novel is written from the perspective of an unreliable narrator, that Nabokov very clearly holds in complete contempt”
Comment from 24 Dec 2025 in “Nabokov's guide to foreigners learning Russian” “an example of a book that explores a complex controversial topic, with an unreliable narrator”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Australian author's erotic novel is child sex abuse material, judge finds” Explores a complex controversial topic
“an example of a book that explores a complex controversial topic, with an unreliable narrator”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Australian author's erotic novel is child sex abuse material, judge finds” Opening lines praised as pure form
“The opening lines of Lolita are pure form.”
Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “Em dashes are fucking amazing”
Other novels people recommend
The four most recommended other novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 39 | 9 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 28 | 8 | 78% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Infinite Jestby David Foster Wallace | 26 | 5 | 84% | 9 | 10 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald | 24 | 9 | 73% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Lolitaby Vladimir NabokovThis page | 4 | 1 | 80% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The opening lines of Lolita are pure form.”
“an example of a book that explores a complex controversial topic, with an unreliable narrator”
“some humans are given abilities that far exceed your own”
“the novel is written from the perspective of an unreliable narrator, that Nabokov very clearly holds in complete contempt”
“I've never seen the appeal of this guy's famous novel”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.