-
My Dark Vanessa
- Narrated by: Grace Gummer
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Audible Premium Plus
$14.95 a month
Buy for $14.18
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
A Good Marriage
- A Novel
- By: Kimberly McCreight
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman, Karissa Vacker, George Newbern
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The last thing Lizzie needs right now is a call from an inmate at Rikers asking for help - even if Zach Grayson is an old friend. But Zach is desperate: His wife, Amanda, has been found dead at the bottom of the stairs in their Brooklyn brownstone. And Zach’s the primary suspect. As Lizzie is drawn into the dark heart of idyllic Park Slope, she learns that Zach and Amanda weren’t what they seemed - and that their friends, a close-knit group of fellow parents at the exclusive Brooklyn Country Day school, might be protecting troubling secrets of their own.
-
-
Pleasantly surprised!
- By leelee8888 on 05-10-20
-
The Vanishing Half
- A Novel
- By: Brit Bennett
- Narrated by: Shayna Small
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, Southern Black community and running away at age 16, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: Their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her Black daughter in the same Southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for White, and her White husband knows nothing of her past.
-
-
Soap opera material
- By Sheila S on 06-06-20
By: Brit Bennett
-
The Midnight Library
- A Novel
- By: Matt Haig
- Narrated by: Carey Mulligan
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice. In The Midnight Library, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist, she must search within herself....
-
-
Exceptional.
- By Richard B. on 10-05-20
By: Matt Haig
-
The Push
- A Novel
- By: Ashley Audrain
- Narrated by: Marin Ireland
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby, Violet, that she herself never had. But in the thick of motherhood's exhausting early days, Blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter - she doesn't behave like most children do. Or is it all in Blythe's head? Her husband, Fox, says she's imagining things. The more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity, and the more we begin to question what Blythe is telling us about her life as well.
-
-
Disturbing, Jaw Dropping, Unforgettable
- By Wendi on 01-16-21
By: Ashley Audrain
-
The Four Winds
- A Novel
- By: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Texas, 1934. Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as the crops are failing, the water is drying up, and dust threatens to bury them all. One of the darkest periods of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl era, has arrived with a vengeance. In this uncertain and dangerous time, Elsa Martinelli - like so many of her neighbors - must make an agonizing choice: Fight for the land she loves or go west, to California, in search of a better life.
-
-
✫✫ 4.75 Stars ✫✫
- By 🎧 Cyndi Marie 🎧 on 02-03-21
By: Kristin Hannah
-
Tampa
- By: Alissa Nutting
- Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celeste Price is an eighth-grade English teacher in suburban Tampa. But Celeste's devotion lies elsewhere. She has a singular sexual obsession: 14-year-old boys. In slaking her sexual thirst, Celeste Price is remorseless and deviously free of hesitation, a monstress driven by pure motivation. She deceives everyone, and cares nothing for anyone or anything but her own pleasure. With crackling, rampantly unadulterated prose, Tampa is a grand, uncompromising, seriocomic examination of want and a scorching literary debut.
-
-
This author is pretty gutsy
- By Linda on 02-19-14
By: Alissa Nutting
-
A Good Marriage
- A Novel
- By: Kimberly McCreight
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman, Karissa Vacker, George Newbern
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The last thing Lizzie needs right now is a call from an inmate at Rikers asking for help - even if Zach Grayson is an old friend. But Zach is desperate: His wife, Amanda, has been found dead at the bottom of the stairs in their Brooklyn brownstone. And Zach’s the primary suspect. As Lizzie is drawn into the dark heart of idyllic Park Slope, she learns that Zach and Amanda weren’t what they seemed - and that their friends, a close-knit group of fellow parents at the exclusive Brooklyn Country Day school, might be protecting troubling secrets of their own.
-
-
Pleasantly surprised!
- By leelee8888 on 05-10-20
-
The Vanishing Half
- A Novel
- By: Brit Bennett
- Narrated by: Shayna Small
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, Southern Black community and running away at age 16, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: Their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her Black daughter in the same Southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for White, and her White husband knows nothing of her past.
-
-
Soap opera material
- By Sheila S on 06-06-20
By: Brit Bennett
-
The Midnight Library
- A Novel
- By: Matt Haig
- Narrated by: Carey Mulligan
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice. In The Midnight Library, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist, she must search within herself....
-
-
Exceptional.
- By Richard B. on 10-05-20
By: Matt Haig
-
The Push
- A Novel
- By: Ashley Audrain
- Narrated by: Marin Ireland
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby, Violet, that she herself never had. But in the thick of motherhood's exhausting early days, Blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter - she doesn't behave like most children do. Or is it all in Blythe's head? Her husband, Fox, says she's imagining things. The more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity, and the more we begin to question what Blythe is telling us about her life as well.
-
-
Disturbing, Jaw Dropping, Unforgettable
- By Wendi on 01-16-21
By: Ashley Audrain
-
The Four Winds
- A Novel
- By: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Texas, 1934. Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as the crops are failing, the water is drying up, and dust threatens to bury them all. One of the darkest periods of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl era, has arrived with a vengeance. In this uncertain and dangerous time, Elsa Martinelli - like so many of her neighbors - must make an agonizing choice: Fight for the land she loves or go west, to California, in search of a better life.
-
-
✫✫ 4.75 Stars ✫✫
- By 🎧 Cyndi Marie 🎧 on 02-03-21
By: Kristin Hannah
-
Tampa
- By: Alissa Nutting
- Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celeste Price is an eighth-grade English teacher in suburban Tampa. But Celeste's devotion lies elsewhere. She has a singular sexual obsession: 14-year-old boys. In slaking her sexual thirst, Celeste Price is remorseless and deviously free of hesitation, a monstress driven by pure motivation. She deceives everyone, and cares nothing for anyone or anything but her own pleasure. With crackling, rampantly unadulterated prose, Tampa is a grand, uncompromising, seriocomic examination of want and a scorching literary debut.
-
-
This author is pretty gutsy
- By Linda on 02-19-14
By: Alissa Nutting
-
Pretty Things
- A Novel
- By: Janelle Brown
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Lauren Fortgang, Hillary Huber
- Length: 16 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nina once bought into the idea that her fancy liberal arts degree would lead to a fulfilling career. When that dream crashed, she turned to stealing from rich kids in LA alongside her wily Irish boyfriend, Lachlan. Nina learned from the best: Her mother was the original con artist, hustling to give her daughter a decent childhood despite their wayward life. But when her mom gets sick, Nina puts everything on the line to help her, even if it means running her most audacious, dangerous scam yet.
-
-
SO GOOD
- By sandraleeweston on 04-28-20
By: Janelle Brown
-
Verity
- By: Colleen Hoover
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson, Amy Landon
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.
-
-
intriguing but skip if triggered by child abuse
- By Amazon Customer on 05-16-19
By: Colleen Hoover
-
Anxious People
- A Novel
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrated by: Marin Ireland
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Looking at real estate isn’t usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can’t fix their own marriage. There’s a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can’t seem to agree on anything.
-
-
Read. This. Now.
- By DIY Sammy on 09-09-20
By: Fredrik Backman
-
Lolita
- By: Vladimir Nabokov
- Narrated by: Jeremy Irons
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why we think it’s a great listen: Among the great literary achievements of the 20th century, Lolita soars in audio thanks to the incomparable Jeremy Irons, bringing to life Nabokov’s ability to shock and enthrall more than 50 years after publication. Lolita became a cause celebre because of the erotic predilections of its protagonist. But Nabokov's masterpiece owes its stature not to the controversy its material aroused but to its author's use of that material to tell a love story that is shocking in its beauty and tenderness.
-
-
Surprising good reading
- By Yvette D Skinner on 05-28-09
By: Vladimir Nabokov
-
Hidden Valley Road
- Inside the Mind of an American Family
- By: Robert Kolker
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Don and Mimi Galvin seemed to be living the American dream. After World War II, Don's work with the Air Force brought them to Colorado, where their 12 children perfectly spanned the baby boom: the oldest born in 1945, the youngest in 1965. In those years, there was an established script for a family like the Galvins - aspiration, hard work, upward mobility, domestic harmony. But behind the scenes was a different story: psychological breakdown, sudden shocking violence, hidden abuse. By the mid-1970s, six of the 10 Galvin boys, one after another, were diagnosed as schizophrenic.
-
-
A story you've never heard before
- By Kelley Cox on 04-19-20
By: Robert Kolker
-
Luster
- A Novel
- By: Raven Leilani
- Narrated by: Ariel Blake
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Edie is stumbling her way through her 20s - sharing a subpar apartment in Bushwick, clocking in and out of her admin job, making a series of inappropriate sexual choices. She is also haltingly, fitfully giving heat and air to the art that simmers inside her. And then she meets Eric, a digital archivist with a family in New Jersey, including an autopsist wife who has agreed to an open marriage - with rules.
-
-
Spellbinding
- By Nana on 08-07-20
By: Raven Leilani
-
Layla
- By: Colleen Hoover
- Narrated by: Brian Pallino
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Leeds meets Layla, he's convinced he'll spend the rest of his life with her - until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla's behavior takes a bizarre turn. And that's just one of many inexplicable occurrences.
-
-
✫✫ 5 Stars ✫✫
- By 🎧 Cyndi Marie 🎧 on 12-09-20
By: Colleen Hoover
-
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
- By: V. E. Schwab
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 17 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
France, 1714: In a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever - and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.
-
-
Prose style not to my liking
- By C.V. Cox on 10-18-20
By: V. E. Schwab
-
Pretty Little Wife
- A Novel
- By: Darby Kane
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lila Ridgefield lives in an idyllic college town, but not everything is what it seems. Lila isn’t what she seems.A student vanished months ago. Now, Lila’s husband, Aaron, is also missing. At first these cases are treated as horrible coincidences until it’s discovered the student is really the third of three unexplained disappearances over the last few years. The police are desperate to find the connection, if there even is one. Little do they know, they might be stumbling over only part of the truth.
-
-
Holy Shit that was good
- By Denisa on 12-31-20
By: Darby Kane
-
The Guest List
- A Novel
- By: Lucy Foley
- Narrated by: Jot Davies, Chloe Massey, Olivia Dowd, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.
-
-
I stand corrected
- By Christel Thomas on 06-03-20
By: Lucy Foley
-
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
- A Novel
- By: Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo, Julia Whelan, Robin Miles
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated.
-
-
Five Out of Seven Ain't Bad
- By Dubi on 12-31-17
-
The Glass Hotel
- A Novel
- By: Emily St. John Mandel
- Narrated by: Dylan Moore
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the award-winning author of Station Eleven, an exhilarating novel set at the glittering intersection of two seemingly disparate events - the exposure of a massive criminal enterprise and the mysterious disappearance of a woman from a ship at sea. Rife with unexpected beauty, The Glass Hotel is a captivating portrait of greed and guilt, love and delusion, ghosts and unintended consequences, and the infinite ways we search for meaning in our lives.
-
-
Not a mystery
- By Sandi from Oregon on 03-28-20
Publisher's Summary
An instant New York Times and Sunday Times best seller.
A Stylist Best Book of 2020.
An era-defining novel about the relationship between a 15-year-old girl and her teacher.
All he did was fall in love with me and the world turned him into a monster.
Vanessa Wye was 15 years old when she first had sex with her English teacher.
She is now 32 and in the storm of allegations against powerful men in 2017, the teacher, Jacob Strane, has just been accused of sexual abuse by another former student.
Vanessa is horrified by this news, because she is quite certain that the relationship she had with Strane wasn't abuse. It was love. She's sure of that.
Forced to rethink her past, to revisit everything that happened, Vanessa has to redefine the great love story of her life - her great sexual awakening - as rape. Now she must deal with the possibility that she might be a victim, and just one of many.
Nuanced, uncomfortable, bold and powerful, My Dark Vanessa goes straight to the heart of some of the most complex issues our age.
Includes a bonus conversation with Kate Elizabeth Russell, Grace Gummer, and Jessica Williams (editor of My Dark Vanessa).
Critic Reviews
"The book everyone will be talking about." (Louise O'Neill)
"...a package of dynamite." (Stephen King)
"Compulsive. I burned through the first half in such a fever that I lost sleep, I missed meals...a lightning rod." (Washington Post)
More from the same
What listeners say about My Dark Vanessa
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joan
- 10-12-20
Dark and gripping
This book was very dark, gripping and believable. I got so caught up in the story I had to remind myself that it isn't real, even though what Vanessa goes through is a very real issue that a lot of woman are struggling with. This book kept me thinking about it long after I finished it. Definitely worth a read.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 09-10-20
A masterful and thought-provoking story.
Everything about this was good. It broke my heart, gave me hope, and brought to life a story that we usually just experience as a headline. Truly powerful.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lexi
- 05-28-20
Interesting But Slow
I wasn’t sure about the authenticity of the 15yr old - seemed too mature to be believable.
I enjoyed the story and I thought it dealt with some really important issues which I was glad to hear more/learn about. I felt the book was really long and could have told the same story in half the words.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Lucy
- 03-11-20
My new favourite book but....
I work in a book shop and we get sent proof copies of novels straight from the publisher before they are released to the public.
This book was one I fell in love with last year and have been waiting with baited breath for it to be realesed to the public and on audible (so I can devour it a third time lol)
I cannot recom3nd it highly enough ...BUT...
I don't know what it is, the narators performance is just ...flat.
It might just be because I read it twice and had a pretty solid idea of what I was expecting...
The story itself , although completely fictional, really hits home as a survivor of abuse, it's subtle yet powerful and really makes you think all the way through.
When I finished I remember putting the book down, sitting back and just thinking "whoa"!
It is in the first person and you really connect with vanessa and her point of view as a 15 year old and as an adult. How Mr Strane has shaped the woman she has become...
I would recommend this book to anyone , especially women who might have been in/seen a similar relationship in their own or one of their friends life, but a trigger warning is definitely in effect if you have suffered Serious abuse as it does not sugar coat things.
So anyway
Story 10/10
Narrator 5/10
If you can I would buy the physical book and read it that way, it is just a better experience in my opinion, but if audio book is your only option then go for it.
32 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- ML79
- 03-11-20
Chilling
It’s worth pointing out I am reviewing this book as someone who has experienced Sexual assaults but not from a teacher.
However, I found aspects of this terrifyingly relatable.
Aware of the controversy with ‘Excavation’ I am listening to that too and so far ( half way through Excavation ) have found them sufficiently different to feel this is not plagiarised and significantly similar to many other experiences I have read, or had related to me to feel aspects are chillingly realistic. The refusal to see behaviour as problematic , to accept blame from the abuser, and most particularly abusers’ language.
I also think Vanessa captures why victims can be terrible jurors- that some of us battle internalised misogyny and deep romanticising of our abuse.
Where I started sympathising with Vanessa has shown me where I need to keep working on myself.
It’s harrowing. And essential.
22 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- sin sin minkin
- 05-24-20
Uncomfortable. Essential.
Venessa's life, her whole life, is on the floor in this novel, and it is read sublimely by Grace Gummer. Her languid teenager and busted adult are perfect for Venessa's character arc. I'm simplifying, of course. This is a complex story. It pulled me side to side in ways I resisted, but the drop into darkness is important, raw as it is, to experience the simple beauty of Venessa's denouement.
My Dark Vanessa is a brilliant character study, and Gummer is the perfect - the absolutely perfect - voice to narrate it.
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Elle
- 04-01-20
Incredible.
Thought provoking and hard to swallow at some parts, but a truly heartbreaking insight into the world of abuse and PTSD.
Says a lot about our culture and I hope we can start some good conversations about this topic as a community.
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- al
- 04-22-20
Right in the feels
This book had a very profound effect on me and made me face down some very tough experiences. I feel like I've been through a spin cycle on a washing machine, like I'm not going to be the same after this book and that can only be a good thing. I feel very conflicted about giving this book 5 stars especially considering such an inflammatory subject matter but to do otherwise would be a grave injustice to the author who tackles the subject in an extremely competent way. I do highly recommend this book but do read at your own risk and be prepared to put it down and come back to it in your own time. It's a tough read but my god was it worth it.
I also adored the narrator who gave the characters a life of their own even during what must have been gruelling reading.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Sarah Rayner
- 03-26-20
Dreary narration of a story lacking drama
I’m virtually a lone voice of dissension it appears, but after all the hype and glowing reviews of this book I expected something with way more ‘oomph’. It seemed lacking in story and rich characterisation, so I didn’t get much sense of the characters as rounded, breathing beings, and after hours of listening I didn’t care very much about either of them. This may have been the narrator- who was tonally flat in her delivery, but It also might be because a couple of months back I listened to another novel on a similar subject which for me resonated powerfully. It has been much less widely publicised but it’s a gem: it’s called ‘Putney’ - not a great title perhaps, but a thought provoking and compelling book about a young girl’s relationship with a much older family friend. By all means give this a go as we all enjoy different books (and hurrah for that) but check out Sofka Zinovieff’s book too as it’s a great listen!
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Janine Quirk
- 07-27-20
unputdownable
Difficult. Uncomfortable. Brilliant. An emotional rollercoaster. A perfect book for our time when we are examining and challenging historic abuse.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Paulette Ogola
- 05-13-20
Very believable
A lot of the time I found myself extremely annoyed by Vanessa, but that seemed to be the author's intent. That there's no right way to be a victim and we need to extend compassion to victims of sexual abuse even if they're a little nutty and hard to empathise with. Ultimately, it was terrifying seeing how *Strain - not sure how it's spelt - singled out this child like a 3-legged wildebeest from the herd of well-adjusted wildebeest and pursued her. How he manipulated her into thinking that this was what she wanted by asking questions that only had one right answer - it's never 'No'. By making her question if she was being raped. Imagine being so brainwashed that you can't tell the difference between normal sex and rape. Anyway, the book was a mind fuck, frustrating and extremely hard to get through. But it was poignant in all the ways that mattered.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- deborah mcentee
- 05-07-20
Couldn't stop listening
Some tough listening at times because of the detail and her sadness she feels later in life, but this topic should be hard to hear. Made me understand and think more about why some victims who choose not to come forward later on and PTSD which is something I could never get my head around before.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- E
- 11-28-20
This is not dark academia
The title may seem like a strange one but I was recommended it on a list of dark academia - and it’s not. So, don’t be fooled like me; I like dark academia so much I used a credit without checking it out.
It’s certainly not bad - just not what I’d expected. You have the dark part for sure. It has a dual storyline - Vanessa at 15, then growing up; and Vanessa in her 30s looking back, stuck.
Read brilliantly by narrator Grace Gummer; she had just the right tone and managed to differentiate the voices beautiful. For those of you who listen to audiobooks fast, I listened very comfortably at 1.7x speed - you could probably go higher.
It’s dark and atmospheric and feels horribly real. I found myself seeing things from Vanessa’s unhealthy POV a lot of times, which was horrible, but shows the strength of writing. I speak with no experience of the things discussed in the novel.
The ending wasn’t quite right for me; it should have ended a bit sooner or gone on a bit further in my opinion. And my rating might be coloured because it wasn’t the book I was expecting.
I have a creepy desire to read Lolita now... which is freaking me out.
A good, if horrible, listen. Be prepared.
TW: underage sex; rape (?); suicidal ideation; sexual abuse; drug misuse
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Michelle Harrison
- 05-04-20
graphic, sensationised and not helpful
protagonist was still so much under cohoesive control even into thirties. the mental and verbal dialogue was at times so extreme, if author wanted this to make a positive impact then protagonist should have made more of a recovery towards end . also author should have perhaps inserted something within the periphery to show audience that this dialogue is masogynic, cohoesive control, domestic violence or whatever. instead just read like a sleazy mid day movie with kink with no value to cause.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Jatin
- 09-05-20
unbelievable
the story, the narrator, everything
if you rate a book on its skillful writing, and its ability to evoke emotion and feeling, whether good or bad, then this is one of the most amazing books you will read. It will haunt me though. The manipulative nature of abuse was disturbing as was the way the victim understood it and so many times while listening I found my fists clenched wanting to punch the guy in the face repeatedly. again this was testament to the writer's ability to take me there. Thank you, I'm moved, disturbed, angry, sympathetic and more. well written
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 04-25-20
Great but very dark and depressing
It was interesting to see the aspect of grooming from a victims perspective that is not the norm. Engaging but at the same time many horrible scenes that were hard to stomach.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 02-02-21
confronting and beautiful
this book is uncomfortable and confronting, but beautiful. it shows you that trauma impacts people in different ways and it will make you question the world around us
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 01-25-21
disturbing-ly good
Easy to be both infuriated and captivated by the main character Vanessa. At times really hard and disturbing to listen to, but I believe that was the entire point, at times the revolt Vanessa feels palpable and visceral to the listener. A good insight into an abusive "relationship" in which a victim can in no uncertain terms describe something as abuse, while simultaneously defending the damaging actions.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 01-07-21
A challenging story most women will relate to in some way.
Thought provoking and relevant novel. I enjoyed the way the storyline had me torn with emotion as I both agreed and disagreed with Vanessa’s thoughts.
I thoroughly enjoyed the narration by Grace Gummer and look forward to hearing more of her work.
Can’t wait to see what Kate writes next!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Julie-Ann Daniel
- 10-30-20
Wonderful
Beautifully written and expertly narrated, this work will stay with you even if you have no experience of the subject matter. The self examination of the main character is poetic and thoughtful, so much so that I wondered at myself for not doing more deep diving into my own psyche. The time you spend with this work will not be wasted.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 10-02-20
Amazing
It’s a hard book to listen to because of the subject and content but it’s such great read. The actor who reads the book is brilliant. The book brings to the fore front out lazy cultural acceptance of older men and teenage girls. Bringing to the forefront things we should be talking about. The writing and attention to detail is divine. However, if you find this subject difficult or have suffered any form of sexual harassment you may not want to read this book.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Sarah A
- 09-18-20
HAUNTING AND NECESSITY
NUANCED. UNCOMFORTABLE. POWERFUL. BOLD.
That’s how this book was described. This book is nothing short of that description. We follow Vanessa when she was just 15 years as she is sexually assaulted by Mr Strane - her English teacher. Flash forward 17 years on, we see their story develop and how the trauma has drastically impacted her life. Being sexually harassed or sexually assaulted is something that sticks with you. You start to see the persons face everywhere. Paranoia becomes second nature to you. You’re constantly looking over your shoulder. Vanessa’s story points that out too. A reality for so many of us women. It also highlights the relationship a victim can have with their abuser. And how that can be such a complex and gut wrenching relationship to have. In this book, she comes to terms with the fact that what she thought was the greatest love story ever, turned out to be nothing more than a man taking advantage of younger girls and abusing his power. It’s a sickly world, but nonetheless this is a reality many of us live with. Russell’s stunning debut novel was excellent. Her writing is captivating and I found myself unable to put this book down. This is the kind of book that will make you think about your own experiences from different angels. This is the kind of book that will haunt you and that you’ll catch yourself thinking about years from now. In a time where standing in solidarity with one another and believing sexual assault victims when they become brave enough to tell their story, this book has never been more crucial and vital. A must read for all!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Noinam
- 09-02-20
Confronting but a great book tacking a complex subject matter
This was a difficult story to digest. A sometimes unreliable narrator, damaged by her teenage relationship with a 42 yo teacher, who convinces herself that this ordeal was in fact, a love affair.
How Vanessa processes and deals with her experience/situation feels wrong and - at times - frustrating. But you get her all the same - and can see that grooming is the seduction (albeit manipulative and wrong) of a young person. How Strane turns the teenage Vanessa in to the seductress who he can’t resist, is really quite disturbing.
The narrator was excellent.