My Dark Vanessa - Kate Elizabeth Russell

My Dark Vanessa

By Kate Elizabeth Russell

  • Release Date: 2020-03-10
  • Genre: Fiction & Literature
Score: 4
4
From 2,046 Ratings

Description

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 

“[An] exceedingly complex, inventive, resourceful examination of harm and power.” —The New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice

“A lightning rod . . . brilliantly crafted.”—The Washington Post

A most anticipated book by The New York Times • USA Today • Entertainment Weekly • Marie Claire • Elle • Harper's Bazaar • Bustle • Newsweek • New York Post • Esquire •  Real Simple • The Sunday Times • The Guardian 

Exploring the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher, a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer.

2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher.

2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past. But how can Vanessa reject her first love, the man who fundamentally transformed her and has been a persistent presence in her life? Is it possible that the man she loved as a teenager—and who professed to worship only her—may be far different from what she has always believed?

Alternating between Vanessa’s present and her past, My Dark Vanessa juxtaposes memory and trauma with the breathless excitement of a teenage girl discovering the power her own body can wield. Thought-provoking and impossible to put down, this is a masterful portrayal of troubled adolescence and its repercussions that raises vital questions about agency, consent, complicity, and victimhood. Written with the haunting intimacy of The Girls and the creeping intensity of Room, My Dark Vanessa is an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects the shifting cultural mores transforming our relationships and society itself.

Reviews

  • The internet did not disappoint

    5
    By adip2017
    Wow. Overall one of my favorite books this year. The story is told through two different timelines and goes back and forth between the past and the future describing a girls story of abuse. Incredibly touching and thought provoking as it is not the typical victim story or me too movement narrative. Beautifully written, word choice is impeccable.
  • Fantastic.

    5
    By Nick Cannon Lover<3
    This is the most engaging and beautifully disturbing story I have ever read. The narrator perfectly illustrates how it feels to NOT be the exception, no matter how desperately you believe you are. The manipulation is written in such a realistic manner that I had to put the book down a couple of times just to breathe. It feels as though Russell lived inside each of our minds during our worst and most traumatic moments, and articulated how we felt then, and how we are still affected by them now. This book is a modern, victim perspective of Lolita that urges me to turn back to chapter one as soon as I finish it.
  • one of my favorites

    5
    By dosksjjsididid
    uncomfortable but real and sometimes very relatable ,, made me ??happy? to read again i think it’s a beautiful book although upsetting
  • couldn’t put it down.

    4
    By Jess ☆
    Although it was one of the most unsettling (and at times frustrating/almost relatable) books I’ve read yet, I could not put this book down. The author wrote it so well that I almost mistook it as a memoir.
  • One of my favorites

    5
    By purplelurpia1
    Loved this book. Dark and disturbing but just right. Page turner that I had a hard time putting down. Finished 12/28
  • Idk where to start…

    5
    By gingerwashere_
    I first bought this book because my name was Vanessa, I hardly see my name in media, so I was like “omg cool!” I didn’t even skim the summery tbh.. after the first chapter I was hook. I head half of the book all in one sitting, the next two days I’d stay up all night reading, highlight, noting the book. I love how good it’s written and even if my name wasn’t Vanessa I’d still feel like I was the Vanessa in the book. I felt like the author was in my head thinking how I thought 10/10 I love this book sm
  • Animal death TW

    1
    By mt1880
    !!THIS IS YOUR SPOILER WARNING!! Babe, one of the dogs mentioned in the book passes away of an aneurism. The death mention is a brief part of the story, but I’m baby and it made me really sad. If I can potentially spare someone else the same grief, I’d like to.
  • “In my arms, she was always Lolita…”

    5
    By Anjelica06
    It’s hard to put my feelings into words at the moment. It feels like i’m reading something about me; a personal arrangement of my thoughts. There have been so many times in my life where i’ve felt like Vanessa… alone, confused, scared, but persistent at the fact that “love” was the exact definition for some of the things that have happened to me; abuse and denial. I believe this book is one of the most realistic books i’ve read about teenagers going through abuse… from feeling like you’re special, to finding out it’s all a lie… then into the denying. It’s insane to comprehend, and I don’t know if I want to. This book is definitely one of my favorites, and although it’s hard to read sometimes, I understand Vanessa. I completely understand her. I believe you will too… even if you want to scream at the book and try to help her, saying, “that wasn’t love! he groomed, manipulated, and hurt you!” It’s so much clearer through others eyes and experiences, and that’s what makes this a beautifully painful read.
  • Amazing

    4
    By bookgirly314
    The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 was because of the ending. But overall very very good
  • couldn’t put it down

    5
    By alexa.yang1
    incredibly deep and sad in a incredible real and complex way. think it perfectly describes trauma and self mental torture. really captures the complexity of grooming, etc. would read again for sure

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