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Start giftingLolita in the Afterlife
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Learn moreIn 1958, Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita was published in the United States to immediate controversy and bestsellerdom. More than sixty years later, this phenomenal novel generates as much buzz as it did when originally published. Central to countless issues at the forefront of our national discourse— art and politics, race and whiteness, gender and power, sexual trauma—Lolita lives on, in an afterlife as blinding as a supernova. With original contributions from a stellar cast of prominent twenty-first century writers and edited by the daughter of Lolita’s original publisher in America, Lolita in the Afterlife is a vibrant collection of sharp and essential modern pieces on this perennially provocative book.
Audiobook Table of Contents:
Witness for the Defense: My Father and Lolita - by Emily Mortimer, read by the author
Véra and Lo - by Stacy Schiff, read by Marisol Ramirez
On the Road with Humbert and Lolita - by Ian Frazier, read by Paul Bellantoni
Ugly Beautiful - by Roxane Gay, read by the author
Badge of Honor - by Susan Choi, read by Rebecca Lowman
Watching the Detective - by Laura Lippman, read by the author
Lolita Diary - by Alexander Chee, read by Vikas Adam
Delectatio Morosa - by Lauren Groff, read by Rebecca Lowman
Lolita, #MeToo, and Myself - by Morgan Jerkins, read by Marisol Ramirez
Lolita, Chamonix, France, 2018 - by Andre Dubus III, read by the author
The Showgirl Who Discovered Lolita - by Sarah Weinman, read by the author
Fashion’s Lolita; Fragile, Subversive, and a Paean to White Femininity - by Robin Givhan, read by Marisol Ramirez
Lolita and the Empathetic Imagination - by Jim Shepard, read by the author
How Lolita Freed Me from My Own Humbert - by Bindu Bansinath, read by the author
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury - by Christina Baker Kline, read by Rebecca Lowman
Charmed - by Victor LaValle, read by Vikas Adam
They Stay the Same Age - by Sloane Crosley, read by the author
Dear Sugar - by Cheryl Strayed, read by the author
What We Talk About When We Talk About Lolita - by Lila Azam Zanganeh, read by Marisol Ramirez
Nabokov’s Rocking Chair: Lolita at the Movies - by Tom Bissell, read by the author
Lo and Behold - by Jill Kargman, read by the author
Acquiring Lolita’s Language - by Aleksandar Hemon, read by Paul Bellantoni
Charlotte’s Complaint - by Jessica Shattuck, read by the author
Lolita in the Time of Trigger Warnings - by Erika L. Sánchez, read by Marisol Ramirez
Maison Nymphette - by Kate Elizabeth Russell, read by the author
A Living Story of Lolita in Iraq - by Zainab Salbi, read by the author
The Lollipop Room - by Kira von Eichel, read by Rebecca Lowman
The Anti-Monster - by Claire Dederer, read by Marisol Ramirez
Lolita in Lockdown - by Dani Shapiro, read by the author
I Cannot Get Out Said the Starling - by Mary Gaitskill, read by Rebecca Lowman
JENNY MINTON QUIGLEY is a writer and editor. She is the series editor for The Best Short Stories of The Year: The O. Henry Prize Winners, and the author of a memoir, The Early Birds. She is the daughter of Walter J. Minton, the storied former president and publisher of G. P. Putnam's Sons, who first dared to publish Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov in the United States in 1958. A former book editor at several Random House imprints, Minton Quigley lives in West Hartford, Connecticut, with her husband, sons, and dogs.
Reviews
One of the Best Books of the Year by Library Journal"An engrossing collection of smart and thoughtful essays. . . . A number of books about Nabokov and Lolita have been published in the last few years, but Lolita in the Afterlife seems to be the first to wholly reassess the work’s legacy as our society grapples with the harm caused by white male privilege and the age-old propensity to look the other way. All tallied, the book’s 30 essays (as well as Quigley’s own incisive introduction) are, by necessity, contradictory, bracing, uncomfortable, thought provoking, informative, entertaining and, in the end, inconclusive—not unlike Lolita itself."
—BookPage
"In the six decades since its publication, Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita continues to fascinate and disgust. Editor Quigley’s father took the risk in 1958 of publishing Lolita in the United States despite backlash and censorship threats. The 30 essays in this work present various aspects of Lolita, including a profile of the showgirl who first introduced the book to the American publishing world, its two film adaptations, its influence on modern music, and online message boards devoted to “nymphet culture” inspired by the novel. . . . The superb essays found in this book demonstrate the enduring impact of this novel. Highly recommended for readers interested in Lolita and Nabokov."
—Library Journal (starred review)
"A sparkling collection of essays about the controversial novel. Lolita is personal for Minton Quigley, a writer, editor, and daughter of Walter Minton, the Putnam president who first published the novel in the U.S. in 1958. . . . A compendious, wide-ranging collection of sharp, thoughtful essays."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Jenny Minton Quigley brings together many of the most accomplished scholars of today in her new collection dedicated to deciphering the long-term impact of the 20th century’s most controversial novel. Featuring essays from Sarah Weinman, Roxane Gay, Kate Elizabeth Russell, and many more, Lolita in the Afterlife is a thoughtful new addition to Nabokov scholarship that reaches deep into the American psyche."
—Crime Reads Expand reviews