oof sounds rough. he's a talented writer so i can imagine how effective it must be. i just started pale fire, also by nabokov, and the prose is a thing of beauty. not so problematic as what you're reading—though, really, what could be? it's a novel, laid out as a poem, with the poet dead before publication. also provided are extensive notes and commentary by a friend. there's much more to it but i'll stop there. it gets very interesting. full of humor and the prose is very often dazzling. might be worth checking out if lolita doesn't sit right with you but you enjoy the writing, provided well-executed metafictional nonsense appeals to you (i'm finding out that it very much appeals to me!)