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A Novel
by Julia May Jonas
Book Reviewed by:A provocative, razor-sharp, and timely debut novel about a beloved English professor facing a slew of accusations against her professor husband by former students - a situation that becomes more complicated when she herself develops an obsession of her own...
"When I was a child, I loved old men, and I could tell that they also loved me."
And so we are introduced to our deliciously incisive narrator: a popular English professor whose charismatic husband at the same small liberal arts college is under investigation for his inappropriate relationships with his former students. The couple have long had a mutual understanding when it comes to their extra-marital pursuits, but with these new allegations, life has become far less comfortable for them both. And when our narrator becomes increasingly infatuated with Vladimir, a celebrated, married young novelist who's just arrived on campus, their tinder box world comes dangerously close to exploding.
With this bold, edgy, and uncommonly assured debut, author Julia May Jonas takes us into charged territory, where the boundaries of morality bump up against the impulses of the human heart. Propulsive, darkly funny, and wildly entertaining, Vladimir perfectly captures the personal and political minefield of our current moment, exposing the nuances and the grey area between power and desire.
There are barbs about the zeitgeisty, near-constant use of the word "liminal," and the rise of creative nonfiction among students—is it due to narcissism or fear, the narrator wonders. These aren't cruel jokes, though—just recognizable observations if you've been near a college campus recently, lightly mocking but also sympathetic and even appreciative. Yes, sometimes the narrator comes off as a bitch, and her students clownish, but Vladimir is neither a skewering of campus political correctness nor a complete indictment of its protagonist. There is moral reckoning in these pages, sometimes intellectualized and sometimes based on something more primal, like guilt and pain...continued
Full Review
(858 words)
(Reviewed by Chloe Pfeiffer).
In Vladimir, Julia May Jonas's debut novel, Don Quixote is something of a minor motif. The protagonist and her husband—both English literature professors at a liberal arts college—are fans of the work and have even retraced the famous character's journey through Spain. Late in the novel, the protagonist's husband, who has been accused of sexual assault, implies that he thinks of himself as a modern Don Quixote—"an old man who refuses to see the world as it is."
Don Quixote was written by Miguel de Cervantes and published in 1605. The book follows Alonso Quixano, a minor noble whose obsession with chivalric romances drives him mad—he fancies himself a knight, takes on the name Don Quixote, and travels around La...
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Hilariously insightful and delightfully suspenseful, Cult Classic is an original: a masterfully crafted tale of love, memory, morality, and mind control, as well as a fresh foray into the philosophy of romance.
Lily King, author of Writers and Lovers
Vladimir is a thrilling debut—smart, sharp, and über provocative. I devoured it with fascination and awe.
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