Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov 

Humbert Humbert's obsession with Lolita is a tour de force of style and narrative. ...more info on wikipedia

About the artist: Yasmeen Ismailfrom the UK

Yasmeen Ismail is a London based illustrator, who has worked on a wide range of projects, but with a particular emphasis on character design and children’s illustration (both hand rendered and digital). She has a love of inks, paints and watercolours, and is interested in paper craft, design, typography and collage. Yasmeen is a versatile illustrator with a great eye for colour, detail and composition.

Why this work

“I chose Lolita as my book because even though it is clear and well known the actual story is quite subtle. Humbert Humbert, even though the novel is written in his voice is quite a weak character and driven so purely by his desires that he forgoes most everything else in his life. His pursuit of Lolita is almost romantic yet so conniving and manipulative. The cover I created reflects that hot summer that they met in. On the cover Humbert’s hand is pulling her chin towards him, asking her to look at him. All though she is clearly young (indicated by her posture) her lips are pink and inviting. In this illustration she doesn’t reject him, but displays a passive pose.”