Lolita in the Afterlife

In 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.

WITH CONTRIBUTIONS BY
Robin Givhan • Aleksandar Hemon • Jim Shepard • Emily Mortimer • Laura Lippman • Erika L. Sánchez • Sarah Weinman • Andre Dubus III • Mary Gaitskill • Zainab Salbi • Christina Baker Kline • Ian Frazier • Cheryl Strayed • Sloane Crosley • Victor LaValle • Jill Kargman • Lila Azam Zanganeh • Roxane Gay • Claire Dederer • Jessica Shattuck • Stacy Schiff • Susan Choi • Kate Elizabeth Russell • Tom Bissell • Kira Von Eichel • Bindu Bansinath • Dani Shapiro • Alexander Chee • Lauren Groff • Morgan Jerkins
 
“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)

“The essayists’ experiences vary significantly, and the variety of responses this collection contains is instructive. Many of these essays ask us to think about the empathic relationship between reader and text; in aggregate, they give us the material to do so, as they provide a cross section of possible responses to the novel. . . .  [T]he real value of Lolita in the Afterlife as a whole . . . is to present a broad range of contemporary reactions to the novel’s very real ambiguities.” —Rachel Trousdale, Nabokov Online Journal [https://www.nabokovonline.com/uploads/2/3/7/7/23779748/1_trousdale_review_2021_final.pdf]

“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