Reviews

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

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sallyrooneystanclub's review against another edition

5.0

If you want to read this I recommend reading the afterthought first. it doesn't give away any plot details but sure sets the context of the authors motivation for writing such a novel. I could have read this easily over a weekend; it's engaging, thoughtful with full character development. It's a well written book. However I had to put it down sometimes as it really is disturbing. It explores abuse in a nuanced, honest and unjudgemental way. We follow Vanessa as she struggles to make peace with her past and her abuser and see how he twisted her perception of the reality of their relationship. An incredible book. I thank the author as this took over a decade to write and couldn't have been easy.

shaun_lunga's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

allysonboss's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

allisonmaisch's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective

Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

this book holds so much more than i could have ever anticipated going into it. what i thought would be a dark, cliché love story is actually a gripping tale on girlhood, womanhood, and the complexity of sexual coercion. there are ample trigger warnings to look out for prior to opening up this book. but once you start, it’s hard to stop.

truly, this book is hard to describe in words. what really brought it home was reading the author’s note at the end describing the years’ long process of writing this and reading the various reviews by authors and book ratings magazines. my appreciation for this book grew tenfold after taking the time to chew on the meaning that this book holds.

reading this through vanessa’s perspective means that as the reader, we also struggle to distinguish the lines between reading an illustrious affair or a psychological thriller where a young girl is taken advantage of by her predatory professor. i alternated between feeling absolutely disgusted and empathic towards their situation. there were so many nuances that were difficult to reconcile. and i believe it was purposefully designed that way to put ourselves in vanessa’s shoes. as much as their disturbing relationship was romanticized, russell continued to make it clear that strane is a deeply disturbed man.

would i blindly recommend this book to someone? no. but if you are in a place where you can read a thought-provoking novel that covers themes of sexual abuse, then yes.

random side note: i had a hard time picturing vanessa with red hair. i only know vanessa’s with dark brown or black hair and coupled with the title of my dark vanessa, it was really hard to envision fiery red hair.

i have a hold on lolita at the library. this is second novel in a short amount of time that i have read to reference lolita. i’m disappointed that i haven’t read it yet!