This was interesting and not what I was anticipating at all! The characters were unlikeable, but in the good way if that makes sense :) I was sucked in and couldn't want to figure out where the story was going. You definietly had to be paying attention to what was going on, it was not a story you could skim like a light hearted rom com, but it was perfect for this time of year when I could really dive into a book.

A wild ride with an unreliable narrator. I'm not sure if any character in the book was likable - maybe Cynthia? - but Jonas makes them compelling regardless.

First I would like to give a huge thanks to Avid Reader Press for sending me an ARC of this book!

I cannot lie and say that I loved this book from the start. In fact, I detested this book until roughly 150 pages in. I found the main character unsympathetic and frankly unpleasant in the worst way possible. I enjoy a grumpy or morally grey character, but the narrator just hit all the wrong points for me. However, once we arrived at the third act of the book I became excited. I thought we would get a Misery-esq twist to this book. This was not the case, I still found myself intrigued. In the end, this book pleasantly surprised me by turning things around, making it an okay read and a good effort for a debut novel.

Uneven read, started strong but I admittedly lost interest just after half way - that said, I found the campus element well done, and it quite humorous and acerbic in its social commentary.

Our nameless protagonist, is a fifty-eight year old female professor of literature who is well-liked by her students. She has an open marriage with her professor husband, John, who's also the chair of the English department. He's currently in a bit of 'hot water' for having relationships with female students in the past.

Our protagonist leads us through this story sharing her commentary on her age, how she looks, her marriage, her family, her past affairs, and her current desires. What she desires most right now is Vladimir and in the worst way!

There’s so many topics wrapped up in this addictive novel including thoughts about the aging process and its effect on attraction and desirability, the voice of the younger generation, academia, the credibility of mixing morality with art, motherhood, marriage and relationships, power and how it’s perceived, trauma and addictions. It is thought provoking and often amusing in an often darker sense.

Thought provoking and drastically different than many novels that broach similar themes this book definitely is at least a 4 star read.. Highly recommended!

Thank you to netgalley and publishers for providing an e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

Such a good book, I think people are gonna really love this one. Keep me wanting more the whole way through. Thank you!

Don’t be fooled – or put-off – by the cover of Julia May Jonas’s debut novel, Vladimir. Sure, it looks like something featuring Fabio but it is in fact a twist on campus-lit.

The 58-year-old unnamed narrator is a popular English professor at a small liberal arts college in New England. Her charismatic husband, head of department at the same college, is under investigation for a number of inappropriate relationships with former students, that had taken place decades prior. Although the couple have long had a mutual understanding when it comes to their extra-marital pursuits, the allegations sit uncomfortably in the present day where the #MeToo movement has created a new paradigm.

At one point we would have called these affairs consensual, for they were, and were conducted with my tacit understanding that they were happening. Now, however, young women have apparently lost all agency in romantic entanglements. Now my husband was abusing his power, never mind that power is the reason they desired him in the first place.

Enter Vladimir Vladinski, a celebrated, ‘experimental’ novelist and junior professor of literature. The narrator becomes infatuated with Vladimir, and at the same time is juggling the fall-out from her husband’s suspension. She is forced to reckon with the personal and political implications of her circumstances, and her students are quick to remind her that rightly or wrongly, we are often accountable under today’s standards for past behavior. Of the excuse that ‘it was a different time’, she says –

That kind of excuse leads to cultural stultification, it perpetuates misogyny and racism, it is general and not interesting.

But goes on to say –

I’m fully willing to admit that my remaining with my husband – not standing by his actions, necessarily, but simply remaining in relationship to him – may be a product of my own internalized sexism. Certainly, how could it not be.

The story does not dwell on her husband’s suspension per se, but rather how it effects her. A handful of scenes reveal the exquisite double standard –

John was acting just like the women who accused him. He was being wronged, goddamnit. While there was a part of him, I knew, that understood I was suffering too, he still cherished the sense that he was the most drastically injured party. He grasped his being wronged like a precious gem in a velvet pouch.

This book could have easily become bogged down by cultural and political statements, however, by choosing to tell the story from a first-person perspective, and revealing the narrator’s insecurities and vulnerabilities, Jonas keeps it personal and relatable. It also serves to remind the reader that although women of a certain age are frequently deemed ‘invisible’, they have needs. Our narrator is clear about what she wants – professional recognition, acknowledgement from her daughter, food, cigarettes, and lust (not sex).

Cigarettes are best when they are accompanied by intense moods – happiness, anger, defeat. No cigarette is better than the one that follows a torrential cry. I had a friend who used to call them ’emotion suppressors’ but it’s more like they complement emotions, like a good wine complements a meal.

There are elements of the plot that I haven’t revealed, but all parts of the story offer a nuanced take on power (including an excellent commentary on the relationship between art and morality). The narrator’s reflections on ageing are an added bonus, and a number of scenes where she acts impulsively and then pays the price the next day (with aches and pains, and monster hangovers) are funny and accurate.

The distraction of my colleague, as intriguing as it was, had made me feel ridiculous and undignified, desperate, weak, and grasping.

I wasn’t entirely convinced by the ending of this story, but by the time I got there, it didn’t matter. I had thoroughly enjoyed the moral binds that Jonas wove in at every turn, and I’m now on a mission to get my book group reading Vladimir – lots for ‘mature women’ to discuss.

I received my copy of Vladimir from the publisher, Avid Reader Press, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 Fun.

I loved the first 3/4 of this one. I appreciated the nuanced look at female desire, but at the end it seemed to stumble into a "she's crazy" trope.

Dark and intense, a genre bending story that keeps the reader in morally gray areas. Slow pacing and character driven, thought provoking

While this was a thought-provoking read, I found it too similar to other recent tiles like My Dark Vanessa. Not a subject I enjoy reading about.

Vladimir by Julia May Jonas is a nuanced and fascinating interior novel about a female English professor in her late 50s at a precipice in her life struggling with her husband’s indiscretions and her identity. When we meet the unnamed narrator, her husband is embroiled in a scandal for pursuing relationships with much younger students during his academic career as an English professor. She also finds a new distraction in younger professor, Vladimir, who she becomes enamored with from his writing talent and demeanor.

The book goes deep into the narrator’s perspective in such a well-written, vulnerable way. She can be self-conscious and cutting, but is so relatable and human. She ruminates on shifting expectations in the world of academia and perception to sexual encounters, exposing generational differences. She also ruminates on aging and struggling with her own vanity and self-image. The scenes and communication are nuanced, especially in how it depicts her long-term relationship with her husband. As a former English major, I was so taken by this book and its writing and setting. It made me consider the roles we play in our own lives and what culpability we have for the actions of others. I listened the audiobook, which was perfectly narrated by Rebecca Lowman, who well-depicted the narrator.

Thank you Avid Reader Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think this book was more of a it’s not you it’s me. I thought the writing was done very well I just could not really relate to the characters very much. Maybe if I were to read this in 10 years I would’ve enjoyed it better but I thought the cynical aspects of them was not my favorite.
I didn’t find the characters to be extremely likable or relatable but I didn’t think the writing was well done and descriptive and I can see the cover being a little controversial but I very much enjoyed it.

I found this book to be well written and loved the angle that was chosen by the author. The narrator is a 58 year old woman who is an academic and is at a crossroads in her life. She has been in an open marriage with her spouse, however now that she has reached her turning point, she finds that it is all not enough. The first half of the book covers her identity and her past. Her obsession is revealed, however is not expounded upon with great depth. she holds nothing back as all is revealed. She is not sorry, however it turns out she does not really want what she thinks she does. I loved the play on the the cougar role and the character that is exactly who she is. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley. This is one that I will think about for quite some time.

If I’d judged this book by the cover, I would have thought romance and smut. Well…
Our unnamed 58-year-old professor stars as a cunning, narcissistic, vain, intelligent narrator. She makes no apologies for her thoughts or feelings, or about the way she lives her life in an open marriage with her English professor husband. She is unapologetic and strong, yet vulnerable.

“Vanity has always been my poorest quality. I hate it in myself, and yet am as plagued with it as I am with needing to sleep or eat or breathe. I feel trapped in the prison of vanity.”

“Compliments make you supplicant, equal, and master all at once. Supplicant because you are below, admiring; equal because you have the same taste; and master because you are bestowing your approval.”

The main conflict involves accusations of sexual impropriety by her husband and his students. The book examines consent vs. coercion, and relationships with a unique perspective.

Her attitude toward life, art, writing, and sex felt familiar. I found myself nodding in agreement recognizing myself in her statements.

Bored and with disappointment, she begins obsessing in a dark way over a much younger new colleague Vladimir. The sexual fantasies are built up and having them are what she craves rather than the actual man.

Liking this book so much surprised me, It was the character study, the inner workings of this women that hooked me. The words flowed on the page like a smooth, smart piece of art.

“Things work out because of they way they work out, because I open one door and then another, because I find that ease can be one of the greatest forms of freedom.”

This thoughtful, dark debut will linger in my thoughts for awhile.

Wow, this book was something else. The lead isn’t particularly likeable, but the writing is compelling and the end caught me completely off guard.

A fascinating and cleverly written read about power and sex in academia. It reminded me of The Friend by Sigrid Nunez.

I went into this book not knowing what to expect, but found myself incredibly drawn to the main character/narrator. Our narrator is an English professor at a small college whose husband of 20+ years has recently been accused of leveraging his power to have sexual relationships with students. As he awaits his hearing by the English department to see if he keeps his job, his replacement, Vladimir, peaks the interest of our narrator. Vladimir is 18 years her junior with a wife and small daughter. The plot follows our narrator as she develops an almost obsession with Vladimir while also feeling insecure about her age and looks. Our unnamed narrator is both relatable and pathetic, making her wholly human.

Title: Vladimir*


*This post contains affiliate links. If you make purchases after using these links, I will earn a percentage of your purchase without any further cost to you.


Author: Julia May Jonas


Rating: 3.75 stars / 5 stars


Favorite Quote: “When I was in college, the lust I felt for my professors was overwhelming. It did not matter if they were men or women, attractive or unattractive, brilliant or average, I desired them deeply. I desired them because I thought they had the power to tell me about myself.” Jonas, Julia May. Vladimir. Avid Reader, Press, 2022.


Review: Thank you to the publisher, Avid Reader Press, and the NetGalley platform, for the free e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.


Vladimir follows the narrator, an aging English professor, as she reckons with the realities of her husband’s infidelities, now being investigated by the college for inappropriate behaviors he displayed towards students, and her budding attraction - read borderline obsession - with a new professor, Vladimir. This novel confronts the definition of sexual misconduct and explores female aging and complicity in male sexual wrongs.


Overall, I really liked this book. I love a good campus novel (more on that below) and the scenes of this book that were based at the college definitely evoked that feeling. Julia May Jonas is an incredibly talented writer, whose language and use of metaphor truly does capture the feelings of college life (this time from the perspective of a professor instead of the perspective of a student). The flashes back to the narrator’s past relationships and her own time in school add to the feeling of nostalgia (and passion) that often clings to campus novels.


Another aspect of this narrative that worked really well was the exploration of the narrator’s [TRIGGER WARNING] disordered relationship with food. It’s been interesting, recently, the number of TikTok’s I’ve seen of younger women reckoning with their mother’s unhealthy relationships with food and trying to heal their own. This is (hopefully) an indication of a cultural shift where disordered eating is not encouraged in young girls as it has been historically. And this book is about an older woman who would have grown up in an era where disordered eating was not only encouraged but expected. And it shows. This was definitely a challenging aspect of this narrative to read, but it was also one that seemed to be really rooted in the current cultural moment.


So, what didn’t I like?


Well, first, and foremost, the ending felt rushed and didn’t seem cohesive with the rest of the novel. Originally, I found the [SPOILER ALERT] attempted kidnapping portion of the novel jarring, but as I read on, realized that this was more of a satirical play on the inverted power dynamics explored through the novel. So, if the book had resolved there, or somewhere on that path, I think my rating would have been higher. But then, after a brief confrontation between our narrator and Vladimir, Vladimir just storms off, which then allows him to be the real hero by saving the narrator and her husband from the fire. And then there’s just a brief summary of what everyone does after. By no means do I believe that a book needs to end with a resolution that ties up all the loose ends, but this ending somehow managed to messily tie up all those loose ends while also not really seeming to resolve any of the book’s tension.


There were also moments of the book that seemed unnecessarily uncomfortable. Candidly, it addresses some touchy subjects - sexual misconduct and shifting definitions of appropriate sexual behavior. And it mostly does so in a way that recognizes the emotional and sometimes traumatic experiences faced by the individuals involved in these situations. But sometimes the narrative fell flat and failed to fully explore the nuances of the situations it was presenting. (In particular, the section dealing with the narrator’s student’s recognition that racism was also at play and the narrator’s own experiences with inappropriate sexual behaviors when she was younger were brushed over and not explored despite their import and their cultural relevance.)


About that Quote: I wanted this book to be a campus novel, and quotes like this spoke to exactly what I always look for in my campus novels (and their ever enthralling cousin - dark academia). Passion that borders on obsession - questions of identity that can be explored nowhere but the insulated and isolated halls of academia. And quotes like this were the closest this book came to fulfilling what I wanted from it.


Jonas is clearly a talented writer - one who has already found her niche in the passionate and the dysfunctional.


TW for Vladimir - sexual misconduct (possibly SA), kidnapping, drugging, disordered eating, substance use, attempted s*icide, fire


Have you read Vladimir? Share your thoughts below!

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book will absolutely not be for everyone, but I will not apologize for loving it.

Julia May Jones took something as mundane as academia and turned it into exploration on the morality of multiple transgressions within fiction.

I had been very intrigued when Avid Reader Press first shared the synopsis and I'm thrilled that this debut delivered. If you're looking for a book set in academia that is dark and intriguing but isn't a murder kind of dark - this is it. I personally consumed this one by listening to the audiobook while reading my e-copy and I highly recommend this format.

The narrator is a 58 year old unnamed female tenured female english profess or who is trying to move around academia after her husband is accused of sexual misconduct by former students. While they are dealing with the fallout of that, the narrator also develops somewhat of an obsession with a young new, tenure track professor named Vladimir. The story develops from there, moving from one questionable action to another with the introduction of more characters (students, other professors and family) that easily help the plot blossom and move forward.

Vladimir was both liberating and unsettling and for once, I didn't mind the unreliable narrator. In fact, I was so intrigued by her and her actions because they were so provocative. I found myself ignoring all other responsibilities to keep discovering if there is any morality in allowing questionable behavior.

Now I have to mention the cover because apparently that's what everyone is making a big stink about. Many find the cover questionable and misleading, but I personally find it very fitting due to multiple scenes within this debut.

I have so many thoughts, but in the end I think that Vladimir is a book that I'll savor for a long time. I could easily see myself getting a physical copy to reread and annotate.