Lolita in Japanese

When I read a book, I carry it around with me everywhere so that I can read any time I have a few minutes. Waiting in line at the grocery or the Giant Superstore that I hate with a passion is much less tiresome when I can stand there and read, and has probably saved the life of a cashier or two. Right now, I’m reading Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. I had it out at work the other night, hoping for a minute or two, when a young friend (still a teenager) noticed it.

“Do you know what Lolita means in Japanese?” he asked.

Was it something I was unaware of? I’d bite: “What?”

“It means being a pervert for little girls!” he said. 

I shrugged. “Yeah, that’s what it means everywhere. It’s pretty much universal.”

He seemed a little alarmed. “Then why are  you reading it?”

I was amused. “Because I never have. It’s classic literature, like War and Peace …”

His face registered no recognition.

“… or a Tale of Two Cities …”

“I’ve heard of that one,” he said.

“Oh. Good.” 

 

I shudder to think what they're not teaching kids in school these days.