Content warning: discussions around the depictions of childhood sexual abuse, rape, grooming, manipulation
Kate Elizabeth Russell's 2020 novel, My Dark Vanessa, captures the intricate nuances of how one of the legacies of Vladimir Nobokov's controversial 1955 novel, Lolita, has been utilised by child sexual abusers as a tool for their manipulation. In this narrative, however, set in the dawn of MeToo reckonings, Russell gives Vanessa the gift not afforded to Dolores Haze, Vanessa lives.
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Links:
https://www.nylon.com/fiona-apple/amphttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/16/style/modern-love-how-lolita-freed-me-from-my-own-humbert.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/05/vanessa-springora-consent-blake-bailey-literary-mentor-abuse/618928/https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/03/girlhood-melissa-febos-lucid-expose-rape-culture/618445/https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a31282424/kate-elizabeth-russell-my-dark-vanessa-interview/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/mar/13/kate-elizabeth-russell-my-dark-vanessa-interviewhttps://kateelizabethrussell.com/note-to-readers
https://open.spotify.com/show/4dvc06zTAaAylzdTrsgKzp?si=903e8c9127794d6a