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justinkhchen's review against another edition
5.0
5 stars
A deeply fascinating, perhaps misunderstood slice-of-life literary fiction, Vladimir might've over-marketed its older-woman, younger-man forbidden romance aspect, and attracted readers who were unprepared for the raw, messy, journey of the female protagonist's existential crisis. I love the intensely morally gray, imperfect characters throughout, and the extremely lyrical, wise writing. Definitely a food for thought kind of stories, instead of a tantalizing escapism. Go in without caution, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
A deeply fascinating, perhaps misunderstood slice-of-life literary fiction, Vladimir might've over-marketed its older-woman, younger-man forbidden romance aspect, and attracted readers who were unprepared for the raw, messy, journey of the female protagonist's existential crisis. I love the intensely morally gray, imperfect characters throughout, and the extremely lyrical, wise writing. Definitely a food for thought kind of stories, instead of a tantalizing escapism. Go in without caution, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
buggirl48's review against another edition
4.0
this shocked me! i did not think going in i was going to like this, but i think this may be my favorite fiction of 2022 so far. just so so fresh, dark, cynical and perfectly balanced. its bold and i love it
shelbymarie516's review against another edition
1.0
Snooze and ugh. This was boring and I don't understand how everyone loved and raved about this. The only good part was the quote about Scandinavian writes being obsessed with their misery (@mystruggles lol) Why did I even finish this? Terrible!
dodosbookcorner's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
delekelll's review against another edition
4.0
I found this book unsettling because of the way that Gen X ideas sometimes unsettle me. The resistance against self identifying and pathologizing the self, and the way that I feel that I am sometimes seen by my parents. I understand it, and it sometimes undermines my own beliefs which is I think what makes me uncomfortable. I liked the relationship between the Gen X academics and their young queer daughter, it felt very true and a little painful in the truth. It did feel very "kids these days are so wokey" on occasion but I think my skin is thick enough to not mind that too much.
These characters get an easy out at the end, through a large tragedy they are able to kind of skate past a lot of the weird or bad things they've done. I find the protagonist highly relatable in the way that you hate the flaws in someone else that you see in yourself. Her vanity and issues with her age and body were difficult to read about. Her sexuality was refreshing. I don't think her relationship with her husband and his extramarital affairs was resolved in any way that satisfied me but that was probably the point. I like her resistance to auto fiction, and I can tell that this character study of a book is not auto fiction and I enjoy when women refuse to allow people to assume their fiction is about them.
I love a weird obsessive main character, and this judgey and self-assured mother made me feel delighted and sad and want to understand my own mother more.
I'm sitting in my hot car as I write this because I needed to get my thoughts out. I've been in a reading drought and I think this might get me back from that.
Makes me want to write + a book I found from a list of some of the best campus novels from the last 100 years.
These characters get an easy out at the end, through a large tragedy they are able to kind of skate past a lot of the weird or bad things they've done. I find the protagonist highly relatable in the way that you hate the flaws in someone else that you see in yourself. Her vanity and issues with her age and body were difficult to read about. Her sexuality was refreshing. I don't think her relationship with her husband and his extramarital affairs was resolved in any way that satisfied me but that was probably the point. I like her resistance to auto fiction, and I can tell that this character study of a book is not auto fiction and I enjoy when women refuse to allow people to assume their fiction is about them.
I love a weird obsessive main character, and this judgey and self-assured mother made me feel delighted and sad and want to understand my own mother more.
I'm sitting in my hot car as I write this because I needed to get my thoughts out. I've been in a reading drought and I think this might get me back from that.
Makes me want to write + a book I found from a list of some of the best campus novels from the last 100 years.
sofstem's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
erinastin's review against another edition
4.0
A riveting character study of aging, desire, the complexities of sexual predation, and the creative process. Can’t wait to read what Julia May Jonas gives us next!
cmby's review against another edition
4.0
Clever, engrossing, and daring portrayal of desire, power, and the dark tensions between the old & new guards in academia. Nabokovian. Compelling. So much better than the cover suggests!
andotherworlds's review against another edition
3.0
3 // fine but unfortunately nothing spectacularrrrr