My Dark Vanessa

This novel examines the effects of sexual and emotional abuse on a teenage girl by her English teacher, including her long-term attachment to her abuser, and feelings of guilt that her own decisions and desires were to blame. I understood the intended point, but unfortunately, it felt like a sort of fictional case-study of abuse and the effects on the victim/abuser, rather than a complex and engaging novel. Everything fits a by-the-numbers scheme.

Vanessa, a supposedly bright high school student and Strane, her teacher, simply fill the victim/abuser roles. They have no life of their own, and their relationship is lifeless, predictable, and flat. In order for me to buy into Vanessa's ambivalence, I'd have to feel the connection and tension between her and Strane. The predatory nature of Strane is transparent, obvious rather than left for the reader to discover. (Having him seduce her with a copy of Lolita is a little too on the nose.)

As individual characters, neither of them are well-developed enough for me to feel any anger, loss etc. Vanessa has little in the way of other interests or relationships. I can't empathize with how her life has been defined by the abuse because the author never shows the potential in her for anything else. We never see any of Strane's supposed charm or charisma. If he was popular and witty, someone who kids like and other teachers respect, there could have been some interesting conflict. Instead, everyone is suspicious of him and it's obvious that they should be.

I was expecting something deeper. The promised exploration of “psychological dynamics” didn't really occur as far as I could tell.