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A review by jenpaul13
Vladimir by Julia May Jonas
4.0
A steady, academic life is jarred from its familiar course by accusations against the narrator’s husband and a new colleague that quickly becomes the center of attention in Vladimir by Julia May Jonas.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
At a small liberal arts college a popular English professor in her late fifties has long had an understanding with her charismatic husband, chair of the English department, about an openness in their marriage. But now he’s under investigation for some of his inappropriate relationships with former students, which has made life for both of them far more uncomfortable, both academically and personally. With an addition to the department of Vladimir, a young, married novelist whose wife has a trauma-filled life she’s crafting into a memoir, the narrator quickly becomes fascinated by him and is pleased spending time with him as she builds upon her fantasies and confirms some theories she has about him. As her obsession grows and her husband’s hearing draws nearer, a rupture in her otherwise calm life seems imminent.
Exploring the concepts of power and desire, this very internally-focused story provided an interesting glimpse into the head of an intelligent and opinionated woman who is generally sure of herself, but her growing infatuation drives her to behave growingly uncharacteristically. Though there is some basis evident for the narrator’s obsession with Vladimir, it feels, on the whole, that her attention to him is driven more from a sense of him being a shiny, new thing that breaks up the monotonous status quo of her, and the college’s, existence rather than an actionable fantasy because of who he is; there’s an indecisiveness to her feelings toward and obsession of him that leaves the obsession from becoming an entirely engrossing or well-executed part of the story, especially when pitted against her thoughts of her husband’s hearing. The writing is descriptive and has an acerbic quality to it that was enjoyable and provided insight in to the narrator’s character and state of mind; while some trains of thought and comments, particularly insights regarding sex, were bold and plainly said, if perhaps surprising to have come from someone of her age, there were moments when the expression of them seemed gratuitous and more for shock value than a substantial reason.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
At a small liberal arts college a popular English professor in her late fifties has long had an understanding with her charismatic husband, chair of the English department, about an openness in their marriage. But now he’s under investigation for some of his inappropriate relationships with former students, which has made life for both of them far more uncomfortable, both academically and personally. With an addition to the department of Vladimir, a young, married novelist whose wife has a trauma-filled life she’s crafting into a memoir, the narrator quickly becomes fascinated by him and is pleased spending time with him as she builds upon her fantasies and confirms some theories she has about him. As her obsession grows and her husband’s hearing draws nearer, a rupture in her otherwise calm life seems imminent.
Exploring the concepts of power and desire, this very internally-focused story provided an interesting glimpse into the head of an intelligent and opinionated woman who is generally sure of herself, but her growing infatuation drives her to behave growingly uncharacteristically. Though there is some basis evident for the narrator’s obsession with Vladimir, it feels, on the whole, that her attention to him is driven more from a sense of him being a shiny, new thing that breaks up the monotonous status quo of her, and the college’s, existence rather than an actionable fantasy because of who he is; there’s an indecisiveness to her feelings toward and obsession of him that leaves the obsession from becoming an entirely engrossing or well-executed part of the story, especially when pitted against her thoughts of her husband’s hearing. The writing is descriptive and has an acerbic quality to it that was enjoyable and provided insight in to the narrator’s character and state of mind; while some trains of thought and comments, particularly insights regarding sex, were bold and plainly said, if perhaps surprising to have come from someone of her age, there were moments when the expression of them seemed gratuitous and more for shock value than a substantial reason.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.