Lolita (genre) looking for similiar works

[Idealistic]

Hi, I'm a new reader somewhat and I'm starting to get to a point where I am beginning to lean towards a specific genre.

I recently discovered that I enjoy a sort of tragic novel -- not necessarily tragic in the sense of Romeo and Juliette but tragic in a way that Lolita was.

I'm not into typical romance novels but just to get a sense of what I like:

My favorite novel is Lolita, but my favorite chapter (specifically) of any book is chapter 16 in Catch-22 titled Luciana -- I enjoyed the humor in the text but more importantly favored the 'sort of romance that was never meant to be' which was the theme (for lack of a better word) of the chapter.

So it kinda goes back to the Lolita type novel; both Lolita and chapter 16 of Catch-22 ended with both protagonists not ending up with the woman they desired (although it is arguable in Catch-22 whether Yossarian truly desired Luciana or if it was more of a lust for her).

My knowledge of romance novels is very limited, the only reason I read Lolita was because it is a classic not because of the forbidden romance it comprised. So I'm asking anyone who is more knowledgeable than I in this genre of books.

I can't emphasize enough that it doesn't have to be The Notebook or Gone with the Wind. Something more dark perhaps, more layered, more taboo even (maybe?).

If someone could please recommend me a novel (that technically doesn't have to be a gushy romance novel) that would likely suit my taste I would really appreciate it.

[Mathor]

Nabokov, the guy who wrote Lolita, has another similar novel about romance, about an incestual relationship. It is called Ada or Ardor.

[March Hare]

Ah, Mathor, you beat me to the punch. Ada I liked as much as Lolita. Might have liked it even better but I didn't get half of the allusions.

[Pryderi Agni]

Nabokov, the guy who wrote Lolita, has another similar novel about romance, about an incestual relationship. It is called Ada or Ardor.


Ah, Mathor, you beat me to the punch. Ada I liked as much as Lolita. Might have liked it even better but I didn't get half of the allusions.

Both of you beat me to the punch, darn!!!:flare: Anyway, here's a review of Ada.

http://urbarbo.blogspot.com/2009/05/fairy-tale-for-grown-ups-nabokovs-ada.html

[mal4mac]

Sounds like your leaning towards the genre of great literature :-)

Some classics where the the themes of "sort of romance that was never meant to be" are uppermost:

Madame Bovary
Anna Karenina
Tess (or anything by Hardy, try "Jude" if you want it really black!)
Hamlet
Macbeth
The Cossacks (Tolstoy again -- also "The Kreuzer Sonata", "The Death of Ivan Illych", several others, get his "complete shorter novels"!))
Idylls of the King (Tennyson -- highlights the Lancelot/Guinevere mess...)

[kelby_lake]

Ah, the 'romance that was not meant to be'!

The Great Gatsby is probably one of the best examples of a tragic novel (or novella) showing us the ultimate, yet rather miserable truth- that the past cannot be recaptured.

Tender is The Night is Fitzgerald's other success, perhaps his maturest novel, detailing the failed marriage of the Divers.

I'll edit this when I think of some more :)

[Idealistic]

Thanks a million, I never would have known where to start! If you think of anymore donèt hesitate to post -- i'll pick up a few.

I'll let you know which ones i pick.

[prendrelemick]

Atonement, by Ian McEwan.
Love in the time of cholera, by Marquez

[Pryderi Agni]

Tender is The Night is Fitzgerald's other success, perhaps his maturest novel, detailing the failed marriage of the Divers.



Wow, I never thought I'd see this bookshelf standby on this thread ever :lol:

[kelby_lake]

Oh, yeah, Atonement's tragic too :)

Avoid 'On Chesil Beach' like the plague!

[mal4mac]

There are different forms of "romance that was never meant to be" of course. Take Don Quixote, his romance with Dulcinea was very much meant to be and very much an ongoing thing for him, but not for anyone else! Hmmm... similarities with Lolita there, except the Don didn't abuse an innocent child and therefore everybody loved him...

[Dark Lady]

Perhaps Great Expectations (depending on which ending you read)? Maybe Hemmingway's Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises? Both have a 'love that was never meant to be' type thing going on.

And if you liked Lolita try reading Pale Fire, also by Nabokov. Not that much like Lolita but it's the only other Nabokov I've read and it's excellent!

[Idealistic]

I'm kind of torn between The Great Gatsby and Ada right now but I'll probably just get both depending how long they are.