2024~X__. Being Lolita

Allison Wood. 2020.

One of the best memoirs about grooming I have ever read, and I have read a lot of them.  Because Wood is a writer, was one in high school, and her abuser was her English teacher, she write detailed contemporaneous journals and letters at the encouragement of the teacher and which he kept.  When she left him, she took them. The result of this is that her depiction of the dynamics of that relationship are painfully vivid and provide insight and understanding about how she experienced the world and saw herself during the time she was his target. It is jarring, to put it mildly.  It is widely know that Lolita has been a handbook for pedophiles for the 70 years since it was published.  I know countless women whose abusers used the techniques in the book to replicate the control that Humbert Humbert had over Lolita.  What is unique about this story is how the teacher tried to get her to read the book and constantly compared them to the "couple" in the book, as if that relationship was something to aspire to.  It is powerfully written, providing insight not only for those who have had similar experiences, but for those who could benefit from some insight into this type of emotional abuse.  I feel confident in saying that if you have not lived through it, this is one of the most accurate depictions of the experience.  I really cannot recommend it enough.  This book just has not gotten enough attention, probably because it is an intense and painful read, but it is one of the best books on child abuse out there.

​Highly recommend.

Click here to purchase this book and support My 50 Bookish Friends blog project.

---