Lo's Diary

OK, I'm just going to tell you a brief summary and what I thought. This books foreward tells the story of how the author of the book supposedly got the diary of Dolores Maze a.k.a Lolita Haze. The book itself is written as if narrated, not so much is tranditional diary form. I felt the language was a little too mature for Lolita who grows from 12-15 while "writing" this diary. Other than that it tells the story of her life with her mother "the hen" before and after Humbert. It discusses why she got involved with him, what kind of a man she REALLY felt he was, and also sheds a lot of light on what kind of a girl SHE really was! I enjoyed this book a lot. It was like a roller coaster ride with a manic-depressive. It was not as well written as "Lolita" of course, however, I did find myself dying to know what she would do or say next. Some parts I had trouble handling. If you are an animal lover watch out for the hamster scene, and if you don't like foul language this book isn't for you. I found myself squirming a little when I read her descriptions of sexual acts. Nabokov was delicate with these descriptions, where Lolita's rough American rebel side shows through. To wrap this up I'm just going to say I liked this book. My mom would kill me if she knew I read it but I liked it a lot. I felt like I was actually there where as with Humberts point of view I felt more like he was telling me about it. I enjoyed this more relaxed style of writing as well,it made it a fast and enjoyable read and you didn't find yourslef looking for Nabokovs clever word games. Try it out.

"The world would be too simple if a slippery rock were enought to trip an ogre," states the preteen protagonist, Dolores "Dolly" Maze, in Pia Pera's novel Lo's Diary, summing up a prominent theme: Life is complex. Lo's Diary is a story based on the popular Lolita. It's a story of a beautiful twelve year old girl, growing up with her mom in a town called Goatscreek with relatively simple folk. The only thing is, Dolores and her mother are anything but simple. Pera portrays Dolores as a twelve year old girl far older than her time. This, "Dolly of the Present" keeps a detailed journal for the "Dolly of the Future." In this journal, Dolly jots of important events in her life: her father's death, her brother Nelson's death, her hamster Nelson II's death, and all about her mother renamed "Plasticmom." Dolly writes of her experiences in Goatscreek, her lust for a writer Gerald Sue Filthy, and the continuing love affair with the object of her mother's affection, the French professor turned novelist M. Humbert. Eventually, Dolly's mother weds Humbert before he promptly kills her off so he can be with Dolly--very Jerry Springeresque. Humbert kidnaps Dolly, making her a sex slave, and forcing her to travel around the country with him. Oddly enough, at first Dolly doesn't mind this year long excursion, but soon enough she feels trapped in her so called life. When Humbert and Dolly finally end their nomadic lifestyle, Humbert's health deteriorates and the now thirteen-year-old Dolly is free. Yet she still isn't. Something makes her life just as miserable and just as enslaving--even after she finally manages to rendevous with the forty-something novelist Filthy. Somehow I couldn't help but notice a pattern and I have to wonder...re all forty-something novelists pedafiles? The plain truth of the matter is that Dolly's life is none too ordinary and to be honest, there wouldn't be much of a novel if her life was. Throughout the twisted story, Pera introduces more and more of her protagonist while making little reference to the age of the character, and this literary technique often makes us forget that the scandalous acts that occur are actually froma preteen's point of view. Unrealistic. Scary. Fun. While Pera's novel held my attention from the vivid descriptions of the people and places, I must say, perhaps the biggest lure of all was that this novel--with all of its practical advice--could serve as a guide for life. A slightly skewed, twisted guide for life, but a guide nonetheless.

I just finished Lo's Diary last night, and my reaction from page one was purely delight that Pia Pera was able to so perfectly give voice to Lolita. I think this is the best example of a continuum of a familiar story that I have ever read. In my opinion, Ms. Pera is quite successful in her portrayal of Lo as a misguided but intelligent nymphet who knows exactly what she is doing, yet is too hardened to have any idea that she is being cheated and used. I fell in love with her character, in the sense that she needed so desperately to be loved. Although I don't possess a degree in psychology, I think it is clear that Humbert, Filthy and Lo are all perfectly drawn profiles of the pedophile, the troubled and desperate child, and the hedonist. I would rush to the nearest bookstore to read a further account of Lo's life if Pia Pera ever decided to carry on with her interpretation.

While Pera's novel is no match for Nabokov's Lolita, it is nevertheless fascinating to read, particularly as a case study of the lreaiton between literature and authorship, critiicsm, editing, publicaiton, and legal studies. I taught the novel along with Nabolov's Lolita, and the students responded to Pera's novel extremely well. I strongly recommend assigning it in undergraduate and graduate courses. Publisher Barney Rosset is to be congratulated for making it possible to read Lo's Diary in English.

The author has the American teenage slang done perfectly. It is a wickedly funny view of the saga by Lolita herself. If you like "Lolita" the first time around, you especially enjoy this viewpoint and retelling by Lo.