My Dark Vanessa

My Dark Vanessa is a highly compelling, if disturbing read. I loved the book as I related so closely to the idealistic fifteen-year-old Vanessa, who is groomed by her English teacher, Jacob Strane, believing him to be the love of her life.

The book opens to Vanessa at thirty-two, leading a lonely and unfulfilling life in a dead-end job at the beginning of the #MeToo era, when other girls come forward to accuse Strane. She finds herself torn: how can she do anything but defend him? Otherwise, she would have to admit to herself that their great love has been… show more.

I loved the shadow world of this book. How it was hard to determine if the relationship was indeed toxic or if the lust and hunger pointed truly to a love affair. It was sexy and disturbing at the same time.

It’s the relationship that fascinated me. The blurry lines between sex and love. Between grooming and real caring. And that even as an adult, the character doesn’t really know, and isn’t able to clearly understand how she feels. 

Hailed as the first novel of the #MeToo movement, Russell’s debut grabs you by the throat and never lets you go.

Vanessa Wye is a bright, insecure fifteen-year-old when she meets Jacob Strane, her magnetic and manipulative English teacher. Before long, their relationship crosses the line into abuse.

Beautifully written and emotionally gutting, Russell succeeds above all in showing the long tail of abuse. We watch as Vanessa loses her innocence twice; first, at the hands of Strane and later as she realizes that what she thought was a great love story was in fact anything but.

Sexual abuse that occurs repeatedly over a long period can be particularly hard to understand. Sometimes it seems like the victim has gone back for more and may be complicit in some way. My Dark Vanessa illustrates how abusers (who are often older and more sophisticated) groom their victims and it shows how it can take years for the person who has suffered to understand what they have been through.