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A review by i_love_big_books
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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
4.0
This was as dark and disturbing a read as the premise suggests. Really uncomfortable in places, it touches upon some very important issues that have been in particular focus in the post #metoo era.
It's about a relationship that should never have happened but does because of the cunning and manipulation of an older man who uses his influence over a much younger girl in such an insidious manner that she is trapped.
Years later, when called upon by another victim of his abuse to help expose him, she cannot give up on the idea that what they had was 'a love story' because if that isn't true, what in her life is?
Vanessa Wye is 15, low on confidence and self esteem and very lonely, having just fallen out with her best friend and away from her parents in an elite boarding school. Jacob Strane, her English teacher, draws her into his orbit by paying her extra attention and making her feel special. Starting with a smile here and a meaningful 'pat' there, he gets her to spend time with him discussing poetry and prose of the controversial kind,most often Nabakov's Lolita, impressing upon her the thrill of the 'forbidden romance'.
The way he coerces her into doing what he wants while convincing her that she is the one responsible for whatever is 'between them' is chilling. He is always telling her she is special while grooming her into a sexual relationship that has her then lying to everyone and keeping hidden. While isolating her from her peers and anyone who would expose him, the worst thing he does is make her think she isn't like other girls and wants his attention and so everything he does is permissible. He even has her feeling bad for and defending him.
Employing a 'pulling her close, keeping her at arms length' policy, he never lets her get over him. So much so that even 17 years later, stuck in a dead end job, she has not moved on from him. When Strane is accused of abuse by another former student of his and Vanessa is asked to corroborate that she too was a victim, she is completely thrown. She has nothing and no one else in her life and memories of those years. Not friends, not even her parents, all of whom she has lied to. Jacob Strane has been the only constant so if he was 'wrong' then nothing makes sense. She can't accept that he was using her and blaming her and what he did was just ugly without feeling even more horrible about herself.
This struggle to come to terms with a most unpalatable truth is at the core of the book that explores the psychological damage wrought by a predator like Strane who abuses his position as a teacher and continuously preys on Vanessa's mind to keep himself safe from exposure. He has her advocating for him to others and, more dangerously, to herself. She is shaped by his version of the truth to be a person who does not know anything else. Even when he's far away, her life choices are governed by his thoughts and influence. The dual timeline alternately portrays her struggle at 15 and in the present and it's clear that she's been defined by him.
It's a hard hitting book that does not hold back from presenting the sordid nature of men like Strane. Many times I wanted to reach in and pull Vanessa away! The book also highlights the unfortunate skewed judgement by society, of girls/women in Vanessa's position, which makes it difficult to speak out.
The combination of guilt and self hatred is stifling and brutal.
For a debut, this is a bold subject to explore and it's really well done.
It's about a relationship that should never have happened but does because of the cunning and manipulation of an older man who uses his influence over a much younger girl in such an insidious manner that she is trapped.
Years later, when called upon by another victim of his abuse to help expose him, she cannot give up on the idea that what they had was 'a love story' because if that isn't true, what in her life is?
Vanessa Wye is 15, low on confidence and self esteem and very lonely, having just fallen out with her best friend and away from her parents in an elite boarding school. Jacob Strane, her English teacher, draws her into his orbit by paying her extra attention and making her feel special. Starting with a smile here and a meaningful 'pat' there, he gets her to spend time with him discussing poetry and prose of the controversial kind,most often Nabakov's Lolita, impressing upon her the thrill of the 'forbidden romance'.
The way he coerces her into doing what he wants while convincing her that she is the one responsible for whatever is 'between them' is chilling. He is always telling her she is special while grooming her into a sexual relationship that has her then lying to everyone and keeping hidden. While isolating her from her peers and anyone who would expose him, the worst thing he does is make her think she isn't like other girls and wants his attention and so everything he does is permissible. He even has her feeling bad for and defending him.
Employing a 'pulling her close, keeping her at arms length' policy, he never lets her get over him. So much so that even 17 years later, stuck in a dead end job, she has not moved on from him. When Strane is accused of abuse by another former student of his and Vanessa is asked to corroborate that she too was a victim, she is completely thrown. She has nothing and no one else in her life and memories of those years. Not friends, not even her parents, all of whom she has lied to. Jacob Strane has been the only constant so if he was 'wrong' then nothing makes sense. She can't accept that he was using her and blaming her and what he did was just ugly without feeling even more horrible about herself.
This struggle to come to terms with a most unpalatable truth is at the core of the book that explores the psychological damage wrought by a predator like Strane who abuses his position as a teacher and continuously preys on Vanessa's mind to keep himself safe from exposure. He has her advocating for him to others and, more dangerously, to herself. She is shaped by his version of the truth to be a person who does not know anything else. Even when he's far away, her life choices are governed by his thoughts and influence. The dual timeline alternately portrays her struggle at 15 and in the present and it's clear that she's been defined by him.
It's a hard hitting book that does not hold back from presenting the sordid nature of men like Strane. Many times I wanted to reach in and pull Vanessa away! The book also highlights the unfortunate skewed judgement by society, of girls/women in Vanessa's position, which makes it difficult to speak out.
The combination of guilt and self hatred is stifling and brutal.
For a debut, this is a bold subject to explore and it's really well done.