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allthatissim 's review for:
My Dark Vanessa
by Kate Elizabeth Russell
content & trigger warnings: rape, sexual abuse, pedophilia, suicide, child pornography, substance abuse, manipulation/gaslighting, death
Rating: 4.5 ⭐️
My Dark Vanessa is a kind of book that makes it hard for you to decide what you feel after finishing it. To just say I loved it, is not justifiable. I felt heavy but light, disoriented but satisfied. Sexual abuse is a hard topic to talk about. And to read a story based on that is a difficult experience for sure.
This book is hugely based on Lolita (which I haven’t read neither planning to read in the near future). Based means, it is not the retelling of Lolita, but rather that the main protagonist, Vanessa (15), sees herself as Lolita because of her relationship with her teacher, Strane (42), who gave her that book to read. That book is then referenced throughout the story by Vanessa.
The story is told in present and the past (when Vanessa’s affair with her professor started). Present Vanessa always thought that what she had with Strane was love. She refused to believe that she was abused. But when an investigation opens against Strane because of accusation by one of his former students, Vanessa recounts the events and tries to figure out the nature of her relationship.
The writing is really superb and I really applaud the way the character of Strane has been written. He is manipulative, freak and always made Vanessa believe that everything was happening because she said it was okay. He always asked first! Yeah, you would hate him to your core, but that’s the sign of a terrific character.
This book is, unfortunately, relevant to today’s time when these kind of stories are coming into light everyday. To imagine the inner struggles of those victims is really hard. The amount of manipulation they go through, societal judgment and pressure, and the behaviour of those victims (even the dark side) has been explained really well through the characters.
A powerful debut and a must read!!
November 4th, 2020: I am finally ready to tackle this emotionally tough read. Buddy reading with Vartika and Aakansha.
Rating: 4.5 ⭐️
My Dark Vanessa is a kind of book that makes it hard for you to decide what you feel after finishing it. To just say I loved it, is not justifiable. I felt heavy but light, disoriented but satisfied. Sexual abuse is a hard topic to talk about. And to read a story based on that is a difficult experience for sure.
This book is hugely based on Lolita (which I haven’t read neither planning to read in the near future). Based means, it is not the retelling of Lolita, but rather that the main protagonist, Vanessa (15), sees herself as Lolita because of her relationship with her teacher, Strane (42), who gave her that book to read. That book is then referenced throughout the story by Vanessa.
The story is told in present and the past (when Vanessa’s affair with her professor started). Present Vanessa always thought that what she had with Strane was love. She refused to believe that she was abused. But when an investigation opens against Strane because of accusation by one of his former students, Vanessa recounts the events and tries to figure out the nature of her relationship.
The writing is really superb and I really applaud the way the character of Strane has been written. He is manipulative, freak and always made Vanessa believe that everything was happening because she said it was okay. He always asked first! Yeah, you would hate him to your core, but that’s the sign of a terrific character.
This book is, unfortunately, relevant to today’s time when these kind of stories are coming into light everyday. To imagine the inner struggles of those victims is really hard. The amount of manipulation they go through, societal judgment and pressure, and the behaviour of those victims (even the dark side) has been explained really well through the characters.
A powerful debut and a must read!!
November 4th, 2020: I am finally ready to tackle this emotionally tough read. Buddy reading with Vartika and Aakansha.