Listen and read

Step into an infinite world of stories

  • Listen and read as much as you want
  • Over 400 000+ titles
  • Bestsellers in 10+ Indian languages
  • Exclusive titles + Storytel Originals
  • Easy to cancel anytime
Subscribe now
Details page - Device banner - 894x1036

My Dark Vanessa: A Novel

1603 Ratings

4.3

Duration
16H 3min
Language
English
Format
Category

Fiction

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY’S BREAKOUT AUTHOR TO WATCH IN 2020

“Brilliant and stunning . . . an absolute must read.” – GILLIAN FLYNN

“A well-constructed package of dynamite.” – STEPHEN KING

A most anticipated book by The New York Times • USA Today • Entertainment Weekly • Marie Claire • Elle • Harper's Bazaar • Bustle • Newsweek • New York Post • Esquire • Real Simple • The Sunday Times • The Guardian

ONE OF THE MOST BUZZED ABOUT DEBUTS IN YEARS

AN INTERNATIONAL SENSATION SOLD IN 24 TERRITORIES AND COUNTING

Exploring the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher, a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer.

2000. Bright, ambitious, and yearning for adulthood, fifteen-year-old Vanessa Wye becomes entangled in an affair with Jacob Strane, her magnetic and guileful forty-two-year-old English teacher.

2017. Amid the rising wave of allegations against powerful men, a reckoning is coming due. Strane has been accused of sexual abuse by a former student, who reaches out to Vanessa, and now Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing an impossible choice: remain silent, firm in the belief that her teenage self willingly engaged in this relationship, or redefine herself and the events of her past. But how can Vanessa reject her first love, the man who fundamentally transformed her and has been a persistent presence in her life? Is it possible that the man she loved as a teenager—and who professed to worship only her—may be far different from what she has always believed?

Alternating between Vanessa’s present and her past, My Dark Vanessa juxtaposes memory and trauma with the breathless excitement of a teenage girl discovering the power her own body can wield. Thought-provoking and impossible to put down, this is a masterful portrayal of troubled adolescence and its repercussions that raises vital questions about agency, consent, complicity, and victimhood. Written with the haunting intimacy of The Girls and the creeping intensity of Room, My Dark Vanessa is an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects the shifting cultural mores transforming our relationships and society itself.

Includes a bonus conversation with Kate Elizabeth Russell, Grace Gummer, and Jessica Williams (editor of My Dark Vanessa).

This audiobook includes an episode of the Book Club Girl Podcast, featuring an interview with Kate Elizabeth Russell about My Dark Vanessa.

© 2020 HarperAudio (Audiobook): 9780062941534

Release date

Audiobook: 10 March 2020

Others also enjoyed ...

  1. Sometimes I Lie Alice Feeney
  2. Truly Devious: A Mystery Maureen Johnson
  3. The Maid Nita Prose
  4. Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982: The international bestseller Cho Nam-Joo
  5. Rock Paper Scissors Alice Feeney
  6. Yellowface Rebecca F Kuang
  7. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
  8. It Ends with Us Colleen Hoover
  9. The Alice Network: A Novel Kate Quinn
  10. The Guest List: A Novel Lucy Foley
  11. His and Hers Alice Feeney
  12. The Song of Achilles: A Novel Madeline Miller
  13. Cleopatra and Frankenstein Coco Mellors
  14. The Wife Between Us: A Richard & Judy Book Club Pick and Shocking Romantic Thriller Sarah Pekkanen
  15. I'm Thinking of Ending Things Iain Reid
  16. Exciting Times: A Novel Naoise Dolan
  17. Almond: A Novel Won-pyung Sohn
  18. Bad Feminist: Essays Roxane Gay
  19. I'm Glad My Mom Died Jennette McCurdy
  20. The Perks of Being a Wallflower Stephen Chbosky
  21. All The Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr
  22. The Paris Apartment: A Novel Lucy Foley
  23. Behind Her Eyes Huw Parmenter
  24. To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee
  25. Mr Nobody Catherine Steadman
  26. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine Gail Honeyman
  27. The Hating Game: A Novel Sally Thorne
  28. The Seven Year Slip Ashley Poston
  29. The Binding: A Novel Bridget Collins
  30. A Woman Is No Man: A Novel Etaf Rum
  31. Sorrow and Bliss: A Novel Meg Mason
  32. The Unhoneymooners Christina Lauren
  33. Shuggie Bain: Winner of the Booker Prize 2020 Douglas Stuart
  34. The Women: The Instant Number One Bestseller from the author of The Nightingale Kristin Hannah
  35. One True Loves Taylor Jenkins Reid
  36. The Dutch House: A Novel Ann Patchett
  37. This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor Adam Kay
  38. Our Wives Under The Sea: Winner of the Polari Prize Julia Armfield
  39. Nothing to See Here Kevin Wilson
  40. Breasts and Eggs Mieko Kawakami
  41. Demon Copperhead: A Novel Barbara Kingsolver
  42. Wilder Girls Rory Power