Tag: contemporary fiction

#BookReview My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell #SUDTP21 @dylanthomprize @MidasPR

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Dylan Thomas Prize 2021My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell is one of the books on the shortlist for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize 2021, the winner of which will be announced later today. You can watch the award ceremony live here.  My thanks to Bei Guo at Midas PR for offering me the opportunity to read one of the shortlisted books.

About the Dylan Thomas Prize

Launched in 2006, the annual Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize is one of the most prestigious awards for young writers, aimed at encouraging raw creative talent worldwide. It celebrates and nurtures international literary excellence.

Worth £20,000, it is one of the UK’s most prestigious literary prizes as well as one of the world’s largest literary prizes for young writers. Awarded for the best published literary work in the English language, written by an author aged 39 or under, the Prize celebrates the international world of fiction in all its forms including poetry, novels, short stories and drama

The prize is named after the Swansea-born writer, Dylan Thomas, and celebrates his 39 years of creativity and productivity. One of the most influential, internationally-renowned writers of the mid-twentieth century, the prize invokes his memory to support the writers of today and nurture the talents of tomorrow

My Dark VanessaAbout the Book

Vanessa Wye was fifteen years old when she first had sex with her English teacher.

Now the teacher, Jacob Strane, has been accused of sexual abuse by another former student, and a journalist has asked Vanessa to contribute to a story about him. But no one seems to understand that what Vanessa and Strane had together wasn’t abuse. It was love.

Wasn’t it?

Format: Paperback (384 pages)        Publisher: 4th Estate
Publication date: 21st January 2021 Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Thriller

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My Review

The book is narrated in the first person and switches between two timelines. In the earlier timeline, set in 2000, the reader witnesses the beginnings of Vanessa Wye’s relationship with Jacob Strane, her English teacher at Browick, a boarding school. In the Afterword, the author writes that, after discarding many earlier drafts of the book, “I unapologetically centred Vanessa in a first person, present-tense narrative, and by doing so I forced the reader to experience the story through her voice”.  The later timeline charts the impact of the relationship over the following seven years.

The book raises all sorts of questions about abuse of power, the insidious nature of grooming and the need for safeguarding. The latter seems to be sadly lacking at Browick despite the presence of ‘dorm parents’ and counsellors.

Although sometimes involving subterfuge, Vanessa’s actions always seem instinctive, albeit naive. On the other hand, Strane’s come across as premeditated, even practised.  For example, his asking for permission as things progress from kisses to more intimate contact (in scenes that I found disturbing to read).  They might be sincere but, as the reader suspects, are more likely to be a ruse to make Vanessa believe she’s in control, that she’s not being coerced.  Likewise, his statements that he thinks about her constantly and misses her when they cannot meet are surely uttered knowing these are just the sort of things a lonely, friendless girl would want to hear.  Similarly, his lavish praise of her work.

At times, it felt almost voyeuristic watching him manipulate Vanessa into doing what he wants. For Vanessa, Strane’s attention gives her a feeling of value she otherwise lacks. ‘He thinks about me. He thinks about me so much, certain things remind him of me. That means something.’ Oh, Vanessa, it means nothing only that his manipulation is working.

Vanessa’s growing disillusionment and eventual realisation about the nature of her relationship with Strane is hard to witness. As she reflects, ‘How easy it is to be tricked into building a narrative out of air, out of nothing’.  Although one might expect Vanessa to feel solidarity towards the other abused women as more cases come to light and to be prepared to share her story for ‘the greater good’, she continues to feels protective towards Strane, having swallowed the lie that she is as complicit in their relationship as him, if not more so. In this version of reality, he simply could not help himself because it was she who ‘brought out the darkness in him’.

My Dark Vanessa is a compelling but, at times, disturbing book to read. Having said that, it’s also a deeply impressive and confident debut. It must take some courage as an author to tackle such controversial subject matter, especially in your first novel. Since the author reveals in the Afterword that the book is the product of eighteen years work, it is clearly a subject she feels strongly about. I can understand why My Dark Vanessa has divided readers but also why it has earned a place on the shortlist for such a prestigious prize.

In three words: Unsettling, provocative, compelling

Try something similar: Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

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Kate Elizabeth Russell

About the Author

Kate Elizabeth Russell is originally from eastern Maine. She holds a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Kansas and an MFA from Indiana University.

My Dark Vanessa is her first novel. (Photo credit: Author website)

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#BookReview My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite @AtlanticBooks @ReadersFirst1

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My Sister, the Serial KillerAbout the Book

“Femi makes three you know. Three and they label you a serial killer.”

When Korede’s dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows what’s expected of her: bleach, rubber gloves, nerves of steel and a strong stomach. This’ll be the third boyfriend Ayoola’s dispatched in “self-defence” and the third mess that her lethal little sibling has left Korede to clear away.

She should probably go to the police for the good of the menfolk of Nigeria, but she loves her sister and, as they say, family always comes first. Until, that is, Ayoola starts dating a doctor at the hospital where Korede works as a nurse. Korede’s long been in love with him, and isn’t prepared to see him wind up with a knife in his back: but to save one would mean sacrificing the other…

Format: Hardcover (240 pages)          Publisher: Atlantic Books
Publication date: 26th October 2018 Genre: Contemporary Fiction

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My Review

My Sister, The Serial Killer is a short book but for me that just added to its attraction.  I loved its taut style with not a word wasted which created a real energy to the story .

Although her conscience tells her she should, Korede’s sense of loyalty to her sister, Ayoola, makes her unwilling to go to the police. Her mother’s words to her on the birth of her sister, ‘Big sisters look after little sisters’, also echo in her mind. Korede finds comfort in sharing her concerns about her sister’s actions with Muhtah, one of the patients in the hospital where she works. He’s been in a coma for a long time and is deemed unlikely to recover so Korede views her one-sided conversations with him as akin to the secrets of the confessional.

Ayoola seems untroubled by her conscience, having convinced herself on each occasion she was acting in self-defence. She prefers to concentrate on posting on social media, designing clothes and deciding what to wear next.  Basically, she craves being the centre of attention. As Korede observes, ‘Ayoola lives in a world where things must always go her way. It’s a law as certain as the law of gravity’.

Beneath the surface, the reader suspects both sisters’ behaviour has been affected by their childhood experiences. Korede’s passion for cleanliness, even as a nurse, is surely more than just a desire to get rid of germs and Ayoola’s dispatch of troublesome boyfriends is perhaps a replacement for another person she would have liked to have got rid of.

Things come to a head when Ayoola sets her sights on Dr. Tade Otumu, a doctor at the hospital where Korede works and for whom Korede harbours a secret admiration. As well as being a skilled medical practitioner, he’s always cheerful, often singing or whistling as he goes about his duties. In fact, he’s described at one point as ‘a walking music box’ making you understand why not only does he lift the spirits of his patients but Korede’s too. As sisterly affection and loyalty is pushed to the limits, Ayoola sagely warns Korede, “You can’t sit on the fence forever”. 

Set in Lagos, the book provides an insight into Nigerian family life, social customs, food, and so on. I was struck by the fact the family’s house girl is never referred to by name. She’s always merely ‘the house girl’ despite being a constant presence in the family’s life, preparing food, waiting on guests and carrying out a multitude of household tasks.

My Sister, The Serial Killer is a darkly comic novel about the limits of sibling loyalty. I loved its wit, energy and inventiveness, and can fully understand its inclusion on so many literary prize lists, notably the shortlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2019 and the longlist for the Booker Prize 2019.

I received an advance review copy courtesy of Atlantic Books and Readers First.

In three words: Clever, witty, accomplished

Try something similar: The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Lola Shenayin

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Oyinkan BraithwaiteAbout the Author

Oyinkan Braithwaite is a graduate of Creative Writing and Law from Kingston University. Following her degree, she worked as an assistant editor at the publishing house, Kachifo, and has been freelancing as a writer and editor since. In 2014, she was shortlisted as a top-ten spoken-word artist in the Eko Poetry Slam and in 2016, she was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. (Photo credit: Goodreads author page)

She lives in Lagos, Nigeria.

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