Welcome to Litsy!

This ended up being a few true crimes stories in one book about how the author of "Lolita" never wanted or was willing to admit that he gleaned most of his novel from the true story of a little girl named Sally Horner. Imcludes some insight from people close to Sally that were still alive to meet with the author. Very interesting, if not a little dry.

Equal parts true crime and literary criticism of Lolita, and how the two intersect. Sally Horner, kidnapped at the age of 11 and taken across the country, is undoubtedly the inspiration behind Nabokov‘s Lolita, though he never public all admired as much. Weinman makes many compelling arguments for this truth, while also attempting to pay tribute to Sally. I‘m no diehard Lolita reader, I casually read it a decade ago, but found this fascinating.

THAT WAS SO GOOD! I've never read Lolita but now I want to see the similarities between the novel and Sally Horner's tragic story for myself. #truecrime #lolita #kidnapping

Two pages in and I know I'm not doing anything else today! #truecrimes #lolita #kidnapping #currentlyreading

A really fascinating look at this true crime. I read this after the fictional take on the same event ("Rust and Stardust"), so reading them one after the other was the perfect combination. Now I know the facts of the story. The sections following Nabokov's writing of "Lolita" were less interesting, but it's a well-researched and insightful book that isn't afraid to dig deeper into the psychological effects of kidnappings and abuse. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“The appreciation of art can make a sucker.”

Fascinating. It‘s only in recent years that I actually read Lolita. I chose it for my turn at book club. Had this book been around it would have added a whole other dimension to the discussion. This author has done a ton of research with the result she has written a very interesting book. I learnt a lot about Nabokov and his wife and life around the time it was written. Read the novel first then this book. you wont be disappointed. @MrsMalaprop

An interesting theory on the basis for Lolita. I‘m certainly convinced of the connection, and all the more horrified that she was lost in the shuffle, immortalized as an anonymous source.

#nfnov

Of all the books I've read, I have never read Lolita. Now that I've read this book though I may have to try reading the fiction novel.

Be warned, this book is not for everyone. Although it is not graphic in the acts of abuse, there are many references, which made it hard at times to read. I couldn't put it down though; I had to find out what happened with Sally. The fact that Nabovkov denies using the case to write his book intrigued me too.

I struggled with this book. It was an important story about Sally Horner, the real person whose life was probably the inspiration for Nabokov‘s “Lolita”. The author makes a really valid point about the need for Sally‘s story to be told, and for how she was used and abused by her kidnapped and by pop culture through Lolita. Trigger warnings abound and I was frankly shocked by the quotes from Nabokov‘s work and how slimy his characters seem.

The absolutely tragic story of 11 year old Sally Horner, the muse behind Nabakov‘s Lolita. Weinman takes a close look at the case, as well as Nabakov‘s frame of mind as he wrote Lolita. I was glad that Weinman didn‘t focus too heavily on Nabakov, as I was much more interested in Horner‘s story.

When your kids go back to school, you celebrate with his and hers pedicures.

I am giving this a so-so because I have a pet peeve with non-fiction that contains material that isn‘t directly relevant to the principle story, e.g. music hits of the year or news stories. It always makes me think the publisher/editor/author wanted a longer book.

Pic is our home away from home. 🤗 Currently at another KOA stopover for the kids‘ benefit, but at least it‘s in one of our favorite places in America - Red Lodge, MT.

This book was amazing. It appears that our genius story of Lolita was simply “ripped from the headlines”. Not proven, the author has researched Nabokov and it seems the literary novel that most can‘t stomach, is eerily similar to a case in New Jersey. Really good stuff. #MayMadness #bannedBook (or at least about a banned book) #24B4Monday 5🌟 book four!

Current audiobook sitting by the pool. #greatread #roughlife book about#bannedbook. #24B4Readathon

I've been reading this for awhile now and really thought this was going to be a good one, but I agree with a lot of others that said this could've been better written. The author doesn't seem to be a very reliable source.

Murder by the Book is a dangerously great place to spend Independent Bookstore Day! #indiebookstoreday #shopindie #staffpicks #mbtbhouston #mysterythrillercrime

Well, now that I've finished Lolita...I figured I could try my hand at this. And the gross part is she is actually mentioned in Nabokov's novel by name, towards the end.

I have never read Lolita and after reading this book, I doubt I ever will. This is a non-fiction account of the abduction of 11 year old Sally Horner in 1948 by a pedophile rapist. Sally was with this man for almost two years, until she was rescued in San Jose, CA. Not only do we learn about a crime most of us never heard about, we also find out what influence it had on Vladimir Nabokov, the author of Lolita. Quite interesting, 4 out of 5 stars.

I probably would have gotten more out of this if I‘d ever read Lolita but it was still an interesting true crime story. It was very well-researched but the writing itself fell flat for me throughout much of the book.

#CurrentlyListening

I‘m ambivalent about this book. Sally Horner‘s story is compelling and sad, and the book is very readable. However, Weinman seems to view, despite any real evidence except his unwillingness to discuss it, Nabokov‘s use of the Horner story as nefarious. It‘s problematic in other places as well; first she discusses a note card in Nabokov‘s papers referring to Horner, then later she says the archives contain no mention of her. A qualified pick.

Nabokov was working on the book that would become Lolita for years and the author contends that the kidnapping of Sally Horner would fill in details to make that book a reality.A tale that combines Sally Horners difficult story with literary detective work to find connections of the facts with literary inspiration.
Horners story is heartbreaking.

Tonight‘s non-fiction reading.

In this book Sarah Weinman tells the story of the kidnapping of Sally Horner and makes the case if it wasn‘t for #ThatGirl Nabokov would have never written Lolita .He always admitted Sally‘s case as an influence,but this author contends that the depth of the connection might run deeper.And I‘d know if I agreed if I ever got it off of TBR mountain and read it.
#TimbitTunes

Fascinating investigation into the harrowing story of the real-life girl that inspired Nabokov to finish Lolita. This book skips into Nabokov‘s life and inspirations, but mostly it follows Sally, the 11 year old kidnapped by pedophile Frank La Salle and taken across the country for 21 months. The author deeply investigated this story. She was able to speak to some witnesses and children of them with shocking revelations in ch. 29. 4⭐️ #BINGO!

Oh you guys!! Litsy has turned me into a true crime reader!! 😱 I never thought I‘d get into this genre since I don‘t like “fake crime” (fiction mysteries, etc.), but I‘m really starting to like it.

I really enjoyed this book. Well researched, informative, fascinating, and heartbreaking. I was at times devastated, furious, and dumbfounded. It was an excellent read and I would highly recommend it.

Fascinating story about the crime that helped Nabokov write Lolita, or the crime that he was at least aware of and mentions in the novel.

When my non-reader best friend remembers that I mentioned wanting to read this book once and bought it for my birthday 😍😍 what a sweetheart!

The true story of Sally Horner‘s kidnapping that inspired Nabakov. It‘s a sad story worth knowing, especially as Lolita has often been portrayed as a vixen rather than victim in pop culture. Unfortunately, not much of Sally‘s story remains today and the writing fell flat, so this book was not as compelling as it should have been.

Fascinating topic, but it could have been better executed. Weinman isn‘t a good writer and some of the conclusions she draws are tenuous at best, while she appears to completely miss other parallels between the two crimes. My guess is that it was hastily written, but it was still worthwhile to read about the real-life abduction with too many similarities to Lolita‘s story to be coincidental.

Um, you do realize you published the photo alongside your “description” of it and we can therefore clearly see that neither is his hair tousled nor are his eyebrows raised. Why bother printing misinformation alongside contradictory evidence? How am I supposed to believe anything else in this book?

This story is very sad and fascinating. The author‘s tone bothered me for some reason I can‘t explain fully yet, but I‘m glad I read it. It‘s also interesting to learn about how Nabokov likely drew much Lolita from Sally Horner‘s story, and why he would want to keep that obscured.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you love true crime and the behind-the-scenes of how a book came to fruition (in this case, Nabokov‘s Lolita), you‘ll enjoy this. It wasn‘t quite my cup of tea but I didn‘t bail, so...

I thought this was a great analysis of Lolita and comparison to the real life kidnapping of Sally Horner, which I had known little about prior to listening to this book. I had a couple issues with the writing, but overall enjoyed this book.

Ugh what a terribly sad story :( This one will stick with me for a bit. Poor girl. 😢 This the last page of the book.

I honestly just want to live my life using author names and/or main characters as adjectives in everyday conversation. Quixotic. Nabokovian. Raskolnikovian. Just to be obnoxious.

“The appreciation of art can make a sucker out of those who forget the darkness of real life.”

I've never read Lolita. I know zero about Nabokov so maybe that's why I enjoyed this. I had no preconceived notions about the work of fiction and relied solely on what the author was telling me. There's a lot of guesswork by the author because there's a lot that's not known but I appreciated the effort! 😊

Very interesting read... the story of Sally Horner was compelling enough, but I may have enjoyed learning about Nabokov even more. I‘ve not read Lolita, but after reading this my perspective on it has changed and I might have to dig into it some day.

All cozy on the couch and ready to spend this chilly evening starting this.. I‘ve heard great things and if it‘s even half the reading experience Lolita was, I‘ll be very happy!

Today we kick off the beginning of Chocolate Season! (Yes, in my world, that‘s a thing 😝). I‘m cooking brittle, cutting truffles, making fancy chocolate granola, and listening to this fascinating audiobook. It‘s narrated by Cassandra Campbell who is one of my favorite narrators, and the book itself is compulsively readable. Weinman looks at Nabokov, Sally Horner, and other cases relevant to the topic and period. One of my faves for 2018 I think.

The book sheds a lot of light not only on Sally Horner, but also all the related people in her life that have since been forgotten. Detectives and friends, judges and family members. It fleshed out Horner's life about as much as possible, given how little remains.

I went into this book as a fan of true crime, but I think it works better as a companion piece for Lolita itself, giving context and insight into the book and its creator.

Me: “I just need to pick up a hold.”
Also me: “these books aren‘t checked out they‘re so unloved I must take them home and cuddle them”
Also me: “shhhh, don‘t talk to me about the 20 library books at home”
#libraryhaul #bookaddict

I read Lolita last week just so I'd have the context to fully appreciate this book. Strangely, my annotated copy of Lolita made no mention of this case even though the novel mentions Sally Horner by name.

I‘m pretty new to nonfiction and true crime—but after hearing the editor talk about it at BEA, I was sold. I thought this was well-done and super interesting. I recently read RUST & STARDUST which is a retelling of Sally Horner‘s kidnapping so this was timely and fit in perfectly.

Loving this #arc so far

Today‘s #bookmail !