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A review by _askthebookbug
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
5.0
| Book Review | My Dark Vanessa.
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Thank you for the copy @harpercollinsin :)
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"I carry his books with me, reading them whenever I can, every spare few minutes and through every meal.” - Kate Elizabeth Russell.
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My Dark Vanessa rocked the literary world as soon as it was introduced to the public. There are two reasons for which this has been making rounds in the industry. One for the significance of the plot Kate has undertaken to address and the second for its controversy of being based on Wendy Ortiz's novel Excavation which came out in 2015. While Wendy claims that Kate has used her memoir to create a fictional ground, Kate denies the fact that My Dark Vanessa was born out of her own personal experience. This particular review holds good till the critics arrive at a conclusion regarding both the books.
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Vanessa Wye is just fifteen when she finds herself in a sexual relationship with her 42 year old English teacher, Jacob Strane. Her fascination with the subject only increases when she realises that Strane is paying her more attention. When she joins the editorial group which is led by Strane, things end up moving at a dangerous speed. His open compliments about her personality, beauty and intellectual mind makes Vanessa feel better in her friendless world. When Strane moves from verbal to physical affection, she is confused yet intrigued by his undivided attention. With her concentration wavering, she feverishly awaits to spend her days with Strane in his office exchanging kisses in the dark. When their relationship turns purely sexual, the school gets a scent of their affair and Vanessa is expelled immediately. It is only seventeen years later that she realises the calculative nature of Strane.
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The story is narrated in two timelines, 2000 and 2017. While Vanessa talks about how she went on to fall in love with her abuser in 2000, she chooses to remain in touch with him for many more years to come. They remain lovers throughout her adulthood while Strane still holds the strings that control her life. In 2017, new allegations pop up against Strane as he is accused with assaulting more than a dozen other girls, seemingly familiar to her own beginnings of their relationship. Vanessa struggles to accept the fact that she has been abused, constantly punishing herself by getting into other harmful relationships. She uses the term love over and over again rather than considering the fact that she was sexually and mentally assualted by a man old enough to be her father. Her destructive nature buds from her prior experience with Strane which makes her blind to obvious facts lying in front of her. When another student reaches out to her about her own abusive story, she has a choice to make.
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This novel is spoken from the victim/survivor's perspective. It's important to note how Vanessa refuses to call herself either a victim or a survivor for she fears that her entire teenage years will end up being a lie. She insists on using the term love to console herself that what Strane did to her was in no sense wrong, that she willingly participated in their relationship. It is clear that Strane uses his spectacular gift as a teacher to narrate sweet nothings to a teenage girl to make her feel vulnerable, leading her to believe that they both want the same thing. As she thinks back to how their affair began, she cannot seem to shake the feeling that it was he who initiated it. A lot of Vanessa's nature is shaped by what Strane did to her and this left me heartbroken and furious. This book brings forth a turbulence of emotions that young girls go through when they are forced to grow up much faster than they are supposed to.
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Kate's debut novel is an eye-opener, a fantastic take on a young girl's journey through hurt and healing. The plot is intense making it impossible for the reader to take a breather. It makes you want to rip out the pages or toss away the book in helplessness and anger but it somehow still keeps you going. It worries me that many young women might still be facing abuse at the hands of someone who is supposed to be a role model. My Dark Vanessa is a brilliant novel not only in the sense of being well written but also in making people understand what it feels like to go through such an enormous trauma. I recommend it.
•
Rating - 5/5.
•
Thank you for the copy @harpercollinsin :)
•
"I carry his books with me, reading them whenever I can, every spare few minutes and through every meal.” - Kate Elizabeth Russell.
•
My Dark Vanessa rocked the literary world as soon as it was introduced to the public. There are two reasons for which this has been making rounds in the industry. One for the significance of the plot Kate has undertaken to address and the second for its controversy of being based on Wendy Ortiz's novel Excavation which came out in 2015. While Wendy claims that Kate has used her memoir to create a fictional ground, Kate denies the fact that My Dark Vanessa was born out of her own personal experience. This particular review holds good till the critics arrive at a conclusion regarding both the books.
•
Vanessa Wye is just fifteen when she finds herself in a sexual relationship with her 42 year old English teacher, Jacob Strane. Her fascination with the subject only increases when she realises that Strane is paying her more attention. When she joins the editorial group which is led by Strane, things end up moving at a dangerous speed. His open compliments about her personality, beauty and intellectual mind makes Vanessa feel better in her friendless world. When Strane moves from verbal to physical affection, she is confused yet intrigued by his undivided attention. With her concentration wavering, she feverishly awaits to spend her days with Strane in his office exchanging kisses in the dark. When their relationship turns purely sexual, the school gets a scent of their affair and Vanessa is expelled immediately. It is only seventeen years later that she realises the calculative nature of Strane.
•
The story is narrated in two timelines, 2000 and 2017. While Vanessa talks about how she went on to fall in love with her abuser in 2000, she chooses to remain in touch with him for many more years to come. They remain lovers throughout her adulthood while Strane still holds the strings that control her life. In 2017, new allegations pop up against Strane as he is accused with assaulting more than a dozen other girls, seemingly familiar to her own beginnings of their relationship. Vanessa struggles to accept the fact that she has been abused, constantly punishing herself by getting into other harmful relationships. She uses the term love over and over again rather than considering the fact that she was sexually and mentally assualted by a man old enough to be her father. Her destructive nature buds from her prior experience with Strane which makes her blind to obvious facts lying in front of her. When another student reaches out to her about her own abusive story, she has a choice to make.
•
This novel is spoken from the victim/survivor's perspective. It's important to note how Vanessa refuses to call herself either a victim or a survivor for she fears that her entire teenage years will end up being a lie. She insists on using the term love to console herself that what Strane did to her was in no sense wrong, that she willingly participated in their relationship. It is clear that Strane uses his spectacular gift as a teacher to narrate sweet nothings to a teenage girl to make her feel vulnerable, leading her to believe that they both want the same thing. As she thinks back to how their affair began, she cannot seem to shake the feeling that it was he who initiated it. A lot of Vanessa's nature is shaped by what Strane did to her and this left me heartbroken and furious. This book brings forth a turbulence of emotions that young girls go through when they are forced to grow up much faster than they are supposed to.
•
Kate's debut novel is an eye-opener, a fantastic take on a young girl's journey through hurt and healing. The plot is intense making it impossible for the reader to take a breather. It makes you want to rip out the pages or toss away the book in helplessness and anger but it somehow still keeps you going. It worries me that many young women might still be facing abuse at the hands of someone who is supposed to be a role model. My Dark Vanessa is a brilliant novel not only in the sense of being well written but also in making people understand what it feels like to go through such an enormous trauma. I recommend it.
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Rating - 5/5.