The evolution of Lolita

Lolita never grows up. She is stuck inside Nabokov's novel, precocious, fragmented, obsessive. But the controversies that her story has caused are constantly changing and evolving for generations of readers, while providing fodder for critics' interpretations and analyses. But the task of creating a cover for Lolita can be just as challenging and exciting. Throughout the years, book designers have reimagined and reinvented this interesting character. The different perspectives are very compelling: from Stanley Kubrik's staple heart-shaped glasses, to a girl in a swimsuit hiding her face behind a blank book, here are how book designers saw Lolita.

Starting from the top left corner, going left to right, here are the years and publishing houses:

1966 // US Berkley Medallion Books // New York

1969 // GB Transworld // London

1973 // GB Transworld // London

1989 // US Vintage International // New York

1995 // GB Penguin // London

1997 // US Random House // New York

2005 // US Random House // New York

2006 // GB Penguin // London

2011 // GB Penguin // London

But let us not forget that Lolita has become a cultural phenomenon all over the world, being translated and published in many languages. Here are nine more arresting interpretations of Lolita as viewed by book designers around the globe.

1964 // Altin Kitaplar Yayinevi // Istanbul, Turkey

1966 // Mondadori // Milano, Italy

1970 // Omega // Amsterdam, Netherlands

1988 // Dar Al-Adab // Beirut, Lebanon

1997 // Gyldendal // Copenhagen, Denmark

1997 // Gallimard // Paris, France

2002 // Patakis // Athens, Greece

2003 // Muza // Warsaw, Poland

2004 // AST // Moscow, Russia

An interesting observation is how the cover designers negotiated the novel's message and content so that it would be in keeping with a certain culture and time period. The representations vary from obvious to cryptic, from realistic to figurative, from innocent and pure to seductive and risqué.