Scan barcode
A review by oreosislife
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
3.0
My mind is literally empty rn. I have no idea what to say. But I'll try my best to atleast type some of my thoughts out. Where should I even begin with? Ok fine let's start with the plot.
It’s every woman who comes forward. But if someone doesn’t want to come forward and tell the world every bad thing that’s happened to her, then she’s what? Weak? Selfish?”
Vanessa Wye was 15 when she fell in love with her English teacher Strane who's 42 at that time. Now you might be thinking "eww, gross, who falls in love with a 42 year old man?". Well, Vanessa did. And she might not be the only one. But the question here should be - did she actually fall for him and became an exception or was she gaslighted and groomed so much that she couldn't see the truth behind Strane's clever words? I won't lie here- in the beginning there was this part where I actually believed Strane. I seriously thought that he loved her in his own twisted ways. But then I quickly realised my mistake. Strane was not a nice man. But he believed that he was nice. And he made sure to never let Vanessa forget what all nice things he did for her (which was actually nothing).
I’m not a victim because I’ve never wanted to be, and if I don’t want to be, then I’m not. That’s how it works. The difference between rape and sex is state of mind. You can’t rape the willing, right?
Now here's the thing- I'm no one to say that I understand what Vanessa went through because I have no idea how she's going to live the rest of her life after realising what Strane did to her. I can't understand a lot of decisions she made. But most importantly I can't decide if I should show some sympathy towards her. She was the one who decided NOT to out Strane, called Taylor and the other victims a liar but was she actually true? I don't know if it's not clear to me or to everyone but were they actually the victims or were they using the opportunity they had i.e. the #MeToo movement going on. I'm not saying that these women were wrong, it's just that the author did not make it clear. Or maybe she did and I did not understand? Can somebody clear it for me please?
“I'm a speckled seal swimming past the breakers, a seabird with a wingspan so long I can fly for miles. I'm the new moon, hidden and safe from him, from everyone.”
Also I wanted to know more about Ira and Vanessa's relationship with him. It's clear that he knows about Strane so I wanted to know what all he did to convince Vanessa and what's his contribution in her life. It was so disheartening to see that all the elder men in her life were trash. I mean she herself was dealing with pedophiles so I shouldn't be commenting on it but still...
.“I just really need it to be a love story. You know? I really, really need it to be that.” “I know,” she says. “Because if it isn’t a love story, then what is it?”
This book is about a lot of things. About gaslighting, grooming, sexual abuse, rape (I'm sorry but Strane actually raped Vanessa on more than one occasions and I have no idea how Vanessa overlooked that fact), victimization, death threats, cyber bullying etc etc. Also the plot is pretty slow and there are things in the book which could have been cut. So if you think that you can handle all of these issues then go ahead and read this book.
Buddy read with Bhavya and Nashita.
It’s every woman who comes forward. But if someone doesn’t want to come forward and tell the world every bad thing that’s happened to her, then she’s what? Weak? Selfish?”
Vanessa Wye was 15 when she fell in love with her English teacher Strane who's 42 at that time. Now you might be thinking "eww, gross, who falls in love with a 42 year old man?". Well, Vanessa did. And she might not be the only one. But the question here should be - did she actually fall for him and became an exception or was she gaslighted and groomed so much that she couldn't see the truth behind Strane's clever words? I won't lie here- in the beginning there was this part where I actually believed Strane. I seriously thought that he loved her in his own twisted ways. But then I quickly realised my mistake. Strane was not a nice man. But he believed that he was nice. And he made sure to never let Vanessa forget what all nice things he did for her (which was actually nothing).
I’m not a victim because I’ve never wanted to be, and if I don’t want to be, then I’m not. That’s how it works. The difference between rape and sex is state of mind. You can’t rape the willing, right?
Now here's the thing- I'm no one to say that I understand what Vanessa went through because I have no idea how she's going to live the rest of her life after realising what Strane did to her. I can't understand a lot of decisions she made. But most importantly I can't decide if I should show some sympathy towards her. She was the one who decided NOT to out Strane, called Taylor and the other victims a liar but was she actually true? I don't know if it's not clear to me or to everyone but were they actually the victims or were they using the opportunity they had i.e. the #MeToo movement going on. I'm not saying that these women were wrong, it's just that the author did not make it clear. Or maybe she did and I did not understand? Can somebody clear it for me please?
“I'm a speckled seal swimming past the breakers, a seabird with a wingspan so long I can fly for miles. I'm the new moon, hidden and safe from him, from everyone.”
Also I wanted to know more about Ira and Vanessa's relationship with him. It's clear that he knows about Strane so I wanted to know what all he did to convince Vanessa and what's his contribution in her life. It was so disheartening to see that all the elder men in her life were trash. I mean she herself was dealing with pedophiles so I shouldn't be commenting on it but still...
.“I just really need it to be a love story. You know? I really, really need it to be that.” “I know,” she says. “Because if it isn’t a love story, then what is it?”
This book is about a lot of things. About gaslighting, grooming, sexual abuse, rape (I'm sorry but Strane actually raped Vanessa on more than one occasions and I have no idea how Vanessa overlooked that fact), victimization, death threats, cyber bullying etc etc. Also the plot is pretty slow and there are things in the book which could have been cut. So if you think that you can handle all of these issues then go ahead and read this book.
Buddy read with Bhavya and Nashita.