My Dark Vanessa – Book Review
Hello friends! This week I have quite the book to review. I’ve heard a lot of people talk about My Dark Vanessa and I was so happy when I got a review copy. I’m less happy after reading the book, but let’s get into it! Here’s my My Dark Vanessa – Book Review!
{You might also like: These Violent Delights – Book Review}
Title: My Dark Vanessa
Author: Kate Elizabeth Russel
Rating: No Rating
Genre: Adult Fiction
Content Warnings: Emotional abuse, predatory grooming, paedophilia, rape, sexual assault, suicide.
Format: Paperback
Publisher: William Morrow via Jonathan Ball Publishers
Date Published: March 1oth 2020
Goodreads Description: 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.
I received a review copy from Jonathan Ball Publishers. All opinions are my own.
Review
This is another one of those books that I can’t really CAWPILE. I have also decided not to give it a rating. Now I usually give ratings to all of the books I read for review, but I felt like I couldn’t rate this one. You’ll soon see why.
I’m angry. And I’m not entirely sure if I can articulate that anger. As you know, this book details the relationship between a student and her (much older) teacher. My Dark Vanessa includes heavy topics, such as grooming, rape, sexual assault and society’s view of rape. It was disturbing to read, to say the least. It made me super uncomfortable, as intended.
Vanessa tells us the story, so even though we know she’s being abused, she does not see it that way. It gives the book a very weird atmosphere since we’re caught up between Vanessa’s feelings and our own. This alone makes the book brilliant, and I was definitely feeling what the author wanted me to feel. I went from frustrated with Vanessa (who has some underlying issues before she meets Strane) to being angry about the things that happened to her.
So many feelings
Strane manipulates her into believing the rape and abusive is what she wanted. That is so many levels of messed up. Let me be very clear, RAPE IS RAPE. There’s no in-between, no grey area. Consent is not that difficult to understand, and coercing someone into sleeping with you is still rape.
I’m angry about this book because even though there’s no doubt in my mind that Strane abused Vanessa, she still does not believe it. I hate that Vanessa is treated like some “crazy, delusional, teenager” and that she is blamed for Strane’s behaviour. I do however believe that these kinds of stories are important and that we should talk about these topics in a sensitive manner.
But I hate that this kind of mindset is still prevalent today. I am angry because I live in the rape capital of the world, and our leaders and the world just turns a blind eye.
I am angry, I am tired, but mostly I’m sad that people (and especially women in South Africa) still have to live in fear.
Reach out and help out
If you are experiencing any form of GBV, here are some resources you can use.
Please do not turn a blind eye on what is happening in our country.
Let me know your thoughts on My Dark Vanessa – Book Review.
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Thank you for the review! Very difficult topic to talk about, but I am glad people are speaking up about it, so that hopefully one day there will be less and less upsetting stories…
I’ve seen this book popping up recently but it has too many triggers for me. Don’t think I’d be able to read it right now. Great post though.
I don’t think I could finish this one, I’d be too torqued, you are braver and mellower than I am 😉
You are brave for readings such a book, personally I don’t think I’m able to, the topics are too sickening and hurtful for me to bear. I understand though where the author is coming from, and its so sad to see young girls being manipulated in such a disgusting way over and over again.
My thoughts on the book were entirely the same. I hate to say that I loved it because it made me so angry and deeply uncomfortable. But I think it’s an absolute must-read if one can handle the content.
I can completely understand why you would not want to rate it. It sounds like the author did a very good job in making the book seem realistic but the subject matter was unpleasant and hard to swallow and as such made you uncomfortable. Great review.
Amazing review a very important topic in this book yes it is a hard subject to read but this kind of book is what opens my eyes even more. I really need to read this book. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome post and for putting this book on my radar.
I do not do well with any books with triggers such as these. Just read in the summary I know that I would not last very long with this book. The emotions that it would push in me would be too much for me to handle.
This is a wonderful review and thank you for sharing the helpful links. I didn’t even know what GBV was! I understand your struggles with this book and don’t think it’s one I would pick up at all.