"I've always felt the origin of my anger in my vagina and am surprised it is not mentioned more in literature"

This book started so strong. The narrator had such a powerful voice, her ideas were so elaborate and her character was so unhinged, driven by desire and held back by her mind. I liked the dynamics between the characters and wanted to learn so much about them, hear the way the narrator interacted with their ideas, their bodies, their impact on her understanding of herself. But I did feel something was missing. This, unfortunately, proved to be more of an issue as the book went on, as the climax and ending were really just meh. We wait for the whole book to see all these big things happening, is John going to get persecuted for the allegations against him, is Cynthia going to lose it again or prove herself to be a villain instead of a friend, is anything going to happen between Vlad and the narrator... What was a big build-up fell short of delivering all the answers, or merely some semblance of a surprise, and ended up falling into some of the popular tropes of today that rely on the 'reality' of life just goes on and people do too. Especially when it set itself up to become this very interesting and immersive plot alongside an even better character study of the narrator. Saying that though, I was so enamoured with this book, its cover, its premise and the author's writing style. I can't say, despite my opinions about the climax and end, that I didn't enjoy every second of entering the narrator's mind and wanting to learn about the world through her eyes. It was like I became just as obsessed with her as she for Vladimir. For a debut novel, Jonas brings her best voice to the table and sets herself up as an author I will definitely seek out again.

4 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Avid Reader Press/Simon and Schuster for this ARC!

I was very, very impressed by this novel! It asked difficult questions about power, agency, and consent that I would normally give a blanket response to. I thought the ending was a bit forced, but the character study leading up to the ending was marvelous.

Don’t Judge a book by its cover!
This book was different than any I have read before. Itfollows a wife whose husband has recently been in the news for allegations of him having relationships with his college age students. Many people are outraged by this for his wife but they have an agreement in their relationship and she knew this was happening. The book talks follows their relationship and how it impacts them and it also follows his wife who has a obsession (not sure if right word-maybe crush?) with a younger professor that has recently started working at their college. 3/5 stars.

Wow, what a wild ride. This won’t make my best of 2022 list, but it completely surprised me, which I appreciate. Vladimir starts off very slow. It’s character-driven, and almost nothing happens for the first 80% of the book. But then BAM—all kinds of wild things start happening, and it completely goes off the rails (not in a bad way). I found the unrestrained nature of the ending to be satisfying because I think I would’ve been bored if it ended the way you think it’s going to.

This is not a book for people who need likable characters. Every character is flawed and self-interested and generally dislikable. You’re not necessarily rooting for anyone as you’re waiting for who’s going to self-destruct first. I found the writing to be particularly good, but not great enough to really make me care what was going to happen to these people.

One thing I learned from my reading experience is that I enjoy a campus novel that isn’t solely told from a student perspective. I liked how this is almost a reverse-campus novel in that students don’t play a primary role, and it’s all about the professors’ relationships. I don’t know of many other books like this, and I would be interested in reading more.

Read if you like:
-The Chair on Netflix
-campus novels
-extremely literary writing style
-dislikable characters

My rating: 3 stars

Wow this was quite the novel. Not at all what I thought it would be but I was pleasantly surprised. Great prose, interesting narrator, kept me hooked and reading. I think it brings up a lot of things to discuss, would be great for reading groups (PG 13 reading groups) and would garner a lot of different reactions to it

This is a dark, explosive and provocative debut, and I LOVED it. This is the story of a woman in her 50s whose husband is being investigated for his relationship with students in the past, and she becomes obsessed with a new professor in her University. This novel has such an incredible, addicting voice and it's just such fun to read. At times I could hardly believe this is a debut, because its writing was just so electrifying and bold.

The most interesting thing for me was how the main character is complex, unlikable, self-absorbed and how her relationship with Vladimir is purely of her objectifying him and projecting on him her own desires, which is an interesting changed from so many novels where it's the male protagonist obsessing over a younger, beautiful woman. She is stuck in her thoughts about sex and relationships from when she was young and women were trying to become sexually liberated, and this often comes in conflict with the views on sexuality and power dynamics that her daughter and her students have. It's just such an interesting and perceptive look into generational differences in those areas. This novel really got me thinking and adjusting my perspective and getting into the headspace of someone so different from me - which is always the sign, to me, of a brilliant novel. There was no way I was going to give this less than 5 stars. It was just such an enthralling read that had me talking about it nonstop for days. I will absolutely get a physical copy of this novel!

I'm not sure why such a talented author would spend time writing and perfecting such a vapid and meaningless story. The writing is flawless. The narrator is very smart and incredibly interesting and she is totally wasted in these pages because the story is pointless. Is the point the story its pointlessness? Well, then. This novel nailed it.

I am incredibly surprised by how much I loved this book. I work in academia, I'm 50, perhaps the stars have aligned, "every book its reader", etc. I found the main character relatable and the book very literary, dark, and cynical. I actually laughed out loud a couple of times, which is unusual for me and was certainly unexpected with this book in particular. Interestingly, the graphic content was not as heavy as I expected.

A big HOWEVER: may I say that I absolutely despise the cover? I watched a video from the publisher about how it was chosen, so I kind of get it. But still, I believe it was an unfortunate choice as it conveys the image of a cheap romance novel.

After reading Vladimir, I am inspired now to read My Dark Vanessa and also Lolita. This was a great read!

Once I started reading Vladimir, I couldn't put it down. The main character, a college professor, finds herself in a crisis as her husband is accused of having inappropriate relationships with multiple students. As she reflects on her relationships with her husband, her daughter, and her career, she finds herself trying to figure out what she wants next. One thing she wants is the attention of Vladimir. This is a deep dive into the mind of a very flawed character as she wrestles with her beliefs about sex and relationships, right and wrong, autonomy and compromise. Julia May Jonas wrote with exquisite detail and while this is her first novel, she is a natural for keeping the reader's attention. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a novel navigating the events of a wife in her fifties who’s husband, a professor like her, is caught in a “me too” investigation at their university. The plot centers on the wife’s evaluation of their marriage, careers, and if there is a future together. She attempts to figure herself out by beginning a relationship of sorts between a young professor, Vladimir. It begins as a mentoring type of situation and ends in them using each other in their own ways. I thought the writing was crisp and captivating. The characters were well developed, but it is noted that they were all truly terrible people. Lastly, the cover is awful - glad I had the e-book version!

Contrary to the many divisive ratings on Goodreads, I do fall into the category that really enjoyed this novel.
It's dark, intimate, morally questionable and thought-provoking.
This is how I like my "dark academia" - college professors, power play, ambitions and reputation. Many would describe the characters as unlikeable, for me, as long as the motivation behind a questionable act is reasonable, I'm along for the ride. I'll certainly pick up any future releases from the author, this was an unusual debut.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this book! Such a fascinating mix of highbrow feminist-bent fiction, with a dash of thriller thrown in. The inner dialogue of the main character gave me life. Highly recommended!

Whew!! This book was NOT what I expected based on the cover and I was so pleasantly surprised!! The story is uniquely written and edgy and I found it difficult to put this one down once I started reading it. My first book to read by this author but definitely not my last! Cannot recommend this one enough!

What a wild ride of a book....
Ok first and foremost, the writing is beautiful and highly literary. The story centers around professors at a college university, so you can imagine the high minded thinking and a bit dreamy state of the narrative.

As I sit down to write this, I'm trying to recall the main character's name and realized it was never revealed. I don't know how I didn't notice, but I'm pretty sure we were never given a name of the English professor narrating the entire book! And I'm very impressed at how flawlessly that was achieved.

I would not describe this story as plot driven, but rather very reflective and emotional. The female narrator is getting older. She is facing issues within her job because her husband had affairs with his students and some are coming forward claiming consensual relations occurred. The marriage between this woman and John, her husband, is quite unconventional. They had a daughter Sid, who does make an appearance in the story. But John and the narrator have an open marriage with historical affairs occurring between either party.

Slowly but surly, our narrator become obsessed with Vladimir. She has a broken marriage and a flawed but beautiful wife. The story escalates very quickly (drugging, kidnapping, a fire, rehab) all of it concluded with some oddly italicized text. There is so much to unpack, but I loved it. Cannot wait to discuss with Words+Wine Bookclub. I feel like so much went over my head, so excited to hear how others reacted to this novel.

I enjoyed this book. The prose was well-written, and the characters were dynamic and jumped off the page. I thought the story was interesting and the plot kept me guessing.

Unfortunate cover - I don’t think I would have given it a chance if I hadn’t read the description before seeing the cover elsewhere in the internet, but h really enjoyed this! Perfect length!

I was captivated from the start. You find our main protagonist. Aging and not enjoying it. Her husband is wrapped up in a sexual scandal at the same university she works at. She is not a fan of the "me too". She judges these ladies, her husband and herself alike. a fresh take on a complicated women who hates everything including herself.

I truly don’t know what to think about this book but it deserves 4 starts for the sheer beauty of the writing and the insight of some passages. I was shocked by the main character, but also kind of agreeing with some of her more subversive thoughts on power and empathizing where she was coming from. It went off the rails a bit at the end in a way that wasn’t entirely satisfying (I felt like things wrapped up very quickly) but it is definitely still worth a read.

I'm just not sure what to think about this one. I know it is written more as a way to get inside the narrator's mind and I just don't think it was my style. I thought the personal choices made were definitely red-flag like, but I guess that's what makes her interesting. Just not my thing, but I can see where others might enjoy it.

A fascinating ride and not at all what I expected. I think this would make a great book club selection because it would illicit a ton of discussion. So much to unpack!