My Dark Vanessa
(There is a great deal of controversy over this book. To learn more about that, read this.)
I picked up Kate Elizabeth Russell’s My Dark Vanessa expecting a thriller about a woman’s attempts to come to terms with the inappropriate relationship she had with her high school English teacher when she was fifteen and he was forty-two. But while the novel does explore the relationship and its aftermath, it didn’t feel at all like a thriller to me. As a result, I came away from it with a feeling of overall dissatisfaction, something that might not have happened had the novel been marketed differently.
Vanessa Wye is fifteen when she first meets Jacob Strane. He’s attractive, charming, and deeply intelligent, and he seems to take an interest in her as more than just another one of his students. Eager to experience the world the way she thinks an adult would, Vanessa begins spending more and more time with Jacob, sneaking into his classroom and even into his home in order to be alone with him. She believes herself to be deeply in love with him, and she’s determined to save him from the consequences of their relationship when their secret eventually gets out.
In 2017, Vanessa is contacted by one of Jacob’s former students, a woman who is accusing him of sexual assault. She wants Vanessa to come forward, to finally reveal the truth about her own relationship with Jacob Strane, but Vanessa is unwilling to speak out against the man she has always viewed as her first love. Vanessa has convinced herself that she willingly entered into her illicit affair with Jacob, and no matter how much she learns about sexual assault and the many ways it’s presented, she can’t bring herself to believe that’s what happened to her. Instead, she decides to stick by Jacob in a last ditch effort to protect him from the consequences of his actions. Of course, things don’t go as smoothly as Vanessa envisions, and she is eventually forced to confront some difficult truths about her past and the way it has influenced her present.
At its core, My Dark Vanessa is a portrait of one woman’s journey of self-discovery as she deals with parts of her past she has repressed for years. There is no mystery involved, since it’s clear to the reader from the very beginning that Jacob abused Vanessa, so I’m not sure why the novel is being described as a thriller. There’s a lot to love about the story, but only if you pick it up with a firm understanding of what it is and what it isn’t.
Vanessa is a heroine many women are sure to relate to. She’s a fantastic mix of strength and vulnerability, someone who doesn’t always make the right choices, but is clearly doing the very best she can with a set of less than ideal circumstances. Her life is messy, and the root of this mess can be traced right back to Jacob, something Vanessa herself doesn’t realize until pretty close to the end of the book. She has a lot of soul-searching to do first, and the author does a fantastic job illustrating the difficulties she faces as she attempts to make sense of her past.
Ms. Russell goes into quite a bit of detail concerning the time Vanessa spends with Jacob, and while the descriptions of the abuse aren’t necessarily graphic, they can be difficult to read at times. I had to put the book down at certain key points in the narrative, just to give myself a bit of time to process what Vanessa was going through. This is an important story for sure, but it might not be suitable for all readers due to its subject matter.
I loved the way the author chose to juxtapose Vanessa’s past with her present, allowing the reader to gain a clear understanding of her emotional state at both points in time. The novel shows us that abuse doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and that this kind of trauma simply doesn’t fade away because we wish it would.
If you decide to pick up My Dark Vanessa, please don’t go into it expecting something twisty and suspenseful. Instead, read it for the important message the author delivers to women everywhere, a message of strength and hope that is likely to speak to you even if your own life experience is vastly different from Vanessa’s.
Buy it at: Amazon or shop at your local independent bookstore
Visit our Amazon Storefront
Recent Comments
Certainly this isn’t a thriller in the genre sense but I will say that I found it a compulsive, have- to-keep-reading-despite-the-subject-matter novel. And in fact, though I only meant to read a few pages late one evening, I ended up reading it all in one gulp (ending around 4 am). It’s extremely well-written and the tension comes not from any current danger Vanessa is in but from the very real danger she’s already faced. Again, totally agree not a thriller in the someone’s stalking me, trying to kill me, etc. way, but a thrilling read.
And though Vanessa romanticizes what happened to her, the author never does. It’s clear from Vanessa’s present day circumstances that the “relationship” has had lasting traumatic effect on her life and as much as she wants to keep denying what happened her was abuse (a very common reaction in real life), she’s still reeling from the impact of those events.
Not only did Kate Russell have to open up about her own life experiences (something she did not want to do), but she has also shown that she’s been working on this novel since it was her Masters program project.
Thank you for your review and fleshing out some more about this book. I have seen countless articles about it from long before it was published. I think I may end up reading it at some future date. I’m just not in the mindset for it right now -but it’s good to know the writing is solid and it’s not just about “hype”. I do feel bad the author had to expose so much of her life to “prove” she had a right to write this.
I am also confused why this is marketed as a “thriller” as I have seen a lot of press about it but it all relates to the author and her personal experiences and what she did or didn’t absorb from other sources. As (particularly now) I am looking for more escapist reading I don’t see myself reading this anytime soon. I feel like I have read enough “real” stories about powerful men (up to including President JFK) who have taken advantage of teenagers that I will skip this one- but I wish the author well and hope this helps her in working through whatever past traumas or abuse she suffered.
I also want to say that I agree with the commenters above who have pointed out the difference between clearly wrong (and in some cases criminal) situations and ones where life just throws a couple into socially complex situation or work environment. I know a lot of happy couples who began in such circumstances including a husband and wife of about 70 years of age and almost 50 years of marriage who began with him being the junior accountant on a entire floor run by his future wife.
I know there is in our society a desire to romanticize unequal power dynamics with couples, especially if the woman is in the inferior position. I also know some successful romances in RL that survived the boss/employee relationship. However, anecdotal evidence aside, the inequality of having a sexual/romantic relationship with someone who controls your wages or grades is so problematic that we now have state, corporate, and federal laws intervening as necessary protections. Thankfully, we are making some progress on this issue in real life. I read plenty of romances, including Penny Reid’s Dear Professor series, and see authors doing contortions to make the relationships appealing and ethical, and yet, in the back of my head, I’m running through all of the typical problems associated with one partner having a fair amount of control over another person’s livelihood and professional reputation, among many other problematic issues. I have yet to read a romance where this dynamic is resolved without lots of holes in the logic.
Women and men have negotiated this since forever. Unless, every part of a relationship is a transaction, there will always be some kind of imbalance. Being with someone is always a risk. If people can’t take risks, they’ll end up alone.
We get it, you kink on power imbalances and alpha heroes. That doesn’t necessarily mean that every relationship has a power imbalance or that if you don’t accept that you’ll die alone. Not every relationship is a risk assessment venture.
I think this is an excellent break down if anyone is planning to read the book and curious about the controversy: https://www.vulture.com/2020/02/my-dark-vanessa-and-excavation-book-controversy-explained.html
Thanks for the link. I think this sentence in the article you linked is particularly telling: “Over the new few days, Ortiz continues to tweet about My Dark Vanessa. She says that she has not, and will not, read the novel.” So what we have here are people on Twitter throwing around accusations of plagiarism (not Ms. Ortiz herself using that word, but other Twitterers), probably many of whom haven’t actually read the book in question. Some of the screen captured comments I read tread dangerously close to libel without providing corroborating evidence other than the books seem “similar.” (Because apparently, only one book on this topic can ever be written…?)
Incidentally, I had a similar thing happen to me outside of my work in erotica. Someone in my field worked behind my back falsely accusing me of being a plagiarist, and written evidence of this dirty work got back to me. It was a terrifying, hurtful time that I managed to solve somewhat amicably without going to court even though I had sufficient evidence and grounds for a libel suit. I say this because I want people to think before posting things on Twitter like (fictional examples here), “Ugh! Total plagiarist!” or “OMG, so racist,” because it probably took you less than 30 thoughtful seconds to write your accusation, likely without having skin in the game or reading the work being accused. Because I can tell you from first hand experience, that those kinds of broad ugly statements CAN affect a person’s reputation and career for the worse. I know I definitely have work to do on not being such a loudmouth, but I do get bristly when I read about authors getting picked on this way because I know exactly what it feels like.
I think this is a better Vulture article, because it’s more recent and has more information, by someone who’s read both books and who discusses how long Russell worked on it. The controversy is discussed several se tons in.
https://www.vulture.com/2020/02/my-dark-vanessa-kate-elizabeth-russell.html
“I read Excavation, and Russell didn’t plagiarize it. Beyond the central premise of a woman reevaluating her teenage relationship with a teacher, the two works don’t have much in common. “
I’m completely unaware of the controversy surrounding the book. I will say though that I can see why victims of predatory relationships might find this book compelling, especially if the focus is on self-recovery. As a teacher, I doubt I would find this book enjoyable. Student-teacher relationships are one of the few plots I despise reading, though I’m relieved that this sounds like a book that doesn’t condone the power imbalance. What’s even worse are books that romanticize them.
It’s endless, the hunt for power imbalances. Me, I’m all for if it works for you, I’m good.
I think there are some power balances we can clearly see are unhealthy. But I don’t think every professor/student, coworker/coworker, doctor/patient relationship is inherently wrong.
Every teacher-student relationship is wrong when grades are assigned in official institutions for so many reasons: students rely upon GPAs to find jobs, students rely upon grades to stay financed with loans and grants, students rely upon grades to be competitive on the job market, students rely upon objective, neutral evaluation of their work to learn and progress in any subject, students rely upon a sexual harrassment-free environment to have their best chance to perform well. Teachers under Title IX are subject to federal laws and can not only be fired from any institution in which they are reported, they can under Title IX be subject to state and federal indictment. Teachers reputations can be at stake when accused or charged. Teachers can lose their license. Even tenured professors are at risk of having tenure revoked.
Based on your review, Ms. Dyer, it sounds like this book would be better classified as “literary fiction.”
I can’t say for certain, but the “thriller” classification may be a bit of market manipulation on the part of the publisher. By which I mean, when a broad category like “literary fiction” has too much competition, it can be tempting to slide a book into a genre niche on shaky grounds in the hopes of gaining greater visibility because of less competition. I see this phenomenon quite frequently in Top 100 Amazon lists for various subgenres of erotica. Certain niches, like “Western,” are less competitive, so writers sometimes choose the Western label on weak criteria such as, “Oh, this is a contemporary story that takes place in Montana, so I’ll label it as a Western-” even though the story takes place in a motel room between a prostitute and client. But hey! The client was wearing cowboy boots, so we’ll call it a Western. Stuff like that…
I don’t think this book is my cup of tea, but having read the linked article, I must say that I don’t know if Russell did plagiarize her story (the article suggests she did not), but surely Ortiz (the writer who claims her work was Russell’s source) realizes that, unfortunately, many women “of a certain age” (i.e., before there was general awareness about grooming, power imbalances, and abuse by older authority figures toward the underaged, particularly teenaged girls) had these types of relationships in their youth. Ortiz’s own experience is unique to her and she has every right to process it as she feels appropriate—including using it as inspiration for her writing—but she’s being deliberately obtuse if she thinks being sexually abused by an older man was something singular to her and therefore anyone else who writes about a situation like that must be plagiarizing her work.
She didn’t, and Russell had to expose her own history as an abuse survivor on Twitter to quell the accusations.
@DiscoDollyDeb- I think everything you wrote on this subject is spot on. This story wouldn’t be my cup of tea either, but the claims of plagiarism seem a bit shaky in this case. Based on the linked article, I think there are two controversies at work, the other being accusations of Latino representation in one of her other books. It reminds me of when certain types of animals see a spot of blood on one of its kind and then all swoop down to finish it off. Likewise, once an author’s work stirs up controversy on one front, you can almost certainly expect an attack on another.
@Nah- I think it is most unfortunate that Ms. Russell had to expose her own history in order to get the Twitter mob off of her back, which I take it you believe as well. This is another aspect of online pillorying that is sometimes overlooked- when a criticized party has to out herself in order to appease the roaring crowd. And this, I believe, hurts people who would rather express themselves through fiction than putting their real life traumas on blatant display in order to justify writing said fiction.
Furthermore, as a writer, I would like fellow authors’ work to be judged on their literary merits, not on who the author is or what she has experienced in real life in order to justify the work of art she has created. It seems to me that many of these Twitter critics would be better served writing a book of their own than attacking and tearing down those who have actually put in the effort to create something from start to finish. Maybe if they did that, they would see how darn hard it is and not be as quick to write sweeping pithy statements- often career damaging ones- that take maybe 30 seconds at the most to create.