My Dark Vanessa is one of those books that keeps giving. Before I even got my hands on a copy, I was aware of the book’s controversy: being dropped from Oprah’s book club and sparking nuanced debates about abuse narrative ownership and the novel’s purpose in a post-#MeToo era. The book received accusations similar to those aimed at the its uncomfortable counterpart, Lolita, a novel which manifestly haunts Russell’s story.
Personally, I see Russell’s book as the direct antidote to Nabokov’s, and the strength of the public response only serves to highlight the talent of the author in producing a narrative voice that draws even the most guarded reader into a reluctant complicity. It’s this narrative voice that turns both the pages and the stomach.
But this book has stayed with me not only because of the gripping narrative and sparked discussions, but because of the unique engagement its author has offered so generously through social media. While Russell inevitably acts as an advocate for abuse survivors, she foremost presents as an author and engages her audience with suggestions for further reading: short stories, essays, articles and novels.
I imagine that the candidness and frequency of Russell’s online output has been heightened by the response to COVID-19 and served in lieu of a thwarted book tour, but through it I have found an unparalleled engagement with the text.
L. Addicott 