▫️REVIEW▫️

Vladimir ~ Julia May Jonas

✨Thank you to @netgalley @simonbooks and @juliamaynot for my advanced eARC copy. Out now!

▫️READ IF:
* You had a crush on a college professor.
* You drink caipirinhas.
* Writing a novel is on your list on future accomplishments.

▫️SYNOPSIS: Set in the world of college professors, this heavily character driven narrative is wrought with obsession, fascination, frustration, and scandal. Jonas tells the story of a female English professor who’s husband had recently been accused of sexual misconduct by female students on campus. Despite their open relationship, this breach of trust sends her spiraling into sexual fantasy’s about new hire Vladimir Vladinski.

As the text unfolds, the narrator weaves a complex narrative that has more to do with trust, aging, power, and fantasy that with the character herself. As her desire for Vladimir grows so does her obsession leading to an ending fit for only a literary genius.

▫️REVIEW: A slow burn and should be read as such (thank you to @ashleykritzer for encouraging that I take my time.) There are certain sections of narrative that really need to be savored and thought about before turning the page and once I gave myself the grace to stop and go, I appreciated this more. And don’t let the cover stop you - a smutty juxtaposition to what is really true literary fiction.

What I soon took notice of as I read was the idea that what these English professors and authors are living is the writing experience you are reading about - the creation of suspense, character representation, and use of symbolism. As the story continues, the main character becomes totally unsettling as you realize the impact and influence of her husband’s indiscretions. Some #MeToo undertones here - which side of the movement we are on becomes muddy, but I think that’s the point.

Not for everyone but Jonas is beyond worthy of being on your radar. Her character-driven writing is commanding and thought-provoking as she teeters between dangerous and funny at the same time.

Some solid and nuanced takes on shame and aging! Truly these white folks exist in a bubble of their own creation, which angers me deeply, but it’s a skill to curate a world not too far from reality.

Well, I do applaud this book for being a debut with an interesting writing style and a story that is different than expected. I also have to sadly say that this book wasn’t one that I enjoyed very much. I think that I was expecting something more and definitely wound up getting less.
The narrator of this story is an English professor. She’s quite popular and her husband has always been very charismatic. Problem is he’s under investigation for having inappropriate relationships with former students. Now, that’s about all you’ll get having to do with that aside from passing mentions here and there. Anyway, this couple pretty much has an open type marriage. They have both had affairs and it’s just how it is. Then the narrator comes across Vladimir. He’s a count married novelist who teaches and has just arrived on their campus. Things get weird then but not really until the end.
I don’t want to tell you everything about this book because it's not all that long.
Thing is, this book was probably one of the more boring and drug out books I’ve read this year (granted it’s only February 9th so there is a lot of year for more books to take the place of this one for worst/most boring book of the year). It has lots of talking but little happening and then the stuff that does happen is a little boring. I don’t know, I just know this book wasn’t for me. Especially when the weirdest thing happens towards the end.
I think a lot of people will like this book so I would still say give it a try. It’s not one I would warn you to stay away from, just don’t expect a book about a professor in trouble for past digressions. It’s really not all about that.

Fair warning: This is by no means a “nice” book. It’s dark, and bizarre, and downright horrifying at times.

It’s also hilarious, brilliant, and one of the best things I’ve read so far this year.

Part dark comedy, part campus satire, part…uh…delightfully amoral literary fiction, this is the kind of sharp and strange story that I wish we saw more of in modern novels. Though they have virtually nothing in common plot-wise, the style and spirit of this reminded me very much of Otessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation.

The dialogue is wry and poignant, but that’s nothing compared to the protagonist’s inner monologue, which is nothing short of flawlessly rendered. The character study of people you feel you shouldn’t like but do anyway as a reader is one of my favorite parts of reading in a book where the concept is actualized well by the author.

I loved our bonkers, morally compromised heroine. I even (whispers, then hides) liked her lecherous husband in a way.

This is an outstanding debut novel, rife with humor, spark, and thought-provoking content. I loved it.

The hype was real! Omg. I’m not usually into these kinds of books but this sorry drew me in and kept my attention! I highly recommend s long as you are intrested in the content

What a twisted, bitter thrill ride of a book! I loved the complex, dark characterization in this novel.

a dark fun read about a writing professor and her lascivious husband who has been accused of improper conduct with his much younger students. We follow the female protagonist who becomes obsessed with a new and young professor named Vladimir. I adored the writing and the first 2/3 of this book. It sort of goes off the rails towards the end and it lost me there but because the writing was so good I’m still giving it a high rating. If you like dark character driven books you’ll devour this one filled with juicy dialogue, gorgeous food descriptions and astute observations

Upon first glance, one would think VLADIMIR is a smutty romance novel, simply from the cover. A shirtless man in a sensual pose. However, this book is far from that. If anything, this is the last possible option for that genre.

Vladimir is 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. We follow our narrator, a popular English professor whose husband is under investigation for inappropriate relationships with his former students. Yet, our professor finds herself infatuated with Vladimir, a young, married novelist and it is not long before this story turns…

I enjoyed this book and am really glad I got the chance to read it. As a debut, Jonas does a fabulous job keeping your attention. She proves she is an author to look out for. Vladimir is funny, entertaining and addictive. It captures the personal and political environment our world is at and explores a grey area between power and desire.

I was drawn to this book because it sounded interesting and way different than anything I’ve read before. This was my first character study book and it will be my last too. I’ve learned this style of book is just not for me. Vladimir is not a bad book by any means, it’s very creative. The author did a fantastic job developing the characters and what is happening. This book is very descriptive and a great debut novel. It is just slow moving and doesn’t have enough of a plot for me to keep me super drawn in. Overall, I think this would be a wonderful book for people who enjoy character studies, it just was not a good fit for me personally.

Thank you Net Galley and Avid Reader Press for a gifted copy in return for my honest review.

Woof. This book was a trip.

The TL/DR here would be: Jonas has talent, but don’t open this book if you don’t like to read mildly pretentious lit set in academia that takes a touchy subject and attacks it with a wildly unpopular opinion. Prepare for some challenging morality. There is not one likable character. Ok, you MIGHT like someone- but everyone is deeply DEEPLY flawed.

Fortunately, I was here for ALL of that. Also, I learned the word “concupiscent” and therefore this book was a win for me.

I think my only quibbles here are our narrator’s obsession with her weight (I’m sure there’s an argument to be made that this quirk is necessary in reinforcing our ambivalence towards her, but I think there are other ways this could have been accomplished) and the……..ending?

I am excited to see what Jonas does next, I really loved her writing style. It’s smart, sexy, funny- very enjoyable.

A few quotes I liked-

On the narrator’s husband’s sense of style:

“He wore what he wore because he believed in it—he had lost the sense of costuming and presentation that well-dressed city dwellers naturally possessed. That perambulating sense of always being on display.”

The narrator on a colleague:

“She had enviable long legs, which she would furl and unfurl excessively, like an anthropomorphized spider.”

A feeling I am all too familiar with:

“Possessed with an urge to consume, I went to an upscale butcher shop that had recently opened in the area and bought expensive T-bone steaks from a very handsome, well-muscled butcher.”

An interesting thought:

“No, things work out because of the way they work out, because I open one door and then another, because I find that ease can be one of the greater forms of freedom.”

Thanks so much to NetGally and Avid Read Press for the review copy!

"Vladimir" by Julia May Jonas is a creative and artfully written debut novel!

Wow! Is this book a 'character study' on steroids or what?

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!

Vladimir, husband to wife, Cynthia, and father to three-year-old daughter, Phee, is a recently hired junior professor of literature. He has a newly published novel and offers a copy to John and our protagonist to read and critique. Our protagonist is completely overjoyed!

This is a very intriguing story that reeks of entitlement and female versus male everything! Our protagonist is content with her marriage arrangement and feels if her husband can do it, why can't she? She doesn't understand all the fuss about John's relationships with his students. They were all consulting adults, after all, and it happened in the past before the college banned this type of behavior.

Our protagonist's obsession with Vladimir escalates as the story progresses but I never wanted to stop reading and I fully enjoyed the ride. It was engaging, thought provoking, and thick with hints of underlying meaning. I love that in a book! What I don't love is the cover and the ending felt like there should have been just a bit more...

So many characters and groups of characters in this book are part of this character study. It's absolutely brimming with them. What a creative and artfully written debut novel. I will be looking to see what this author comes up with next. I highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, and Julia May Jones for a free ARC of this book. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review. This book is now available.

Would you rather be the first to read a book and have no expectations? Or do you prefer to hear some buzz about a novel and read it when you can chat about it with a friend?
I usually fall in to the first category, but I really want to discuss Vladimir with someone.
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The protagonist isn’t the title character, she’s an English professor who at fifty-eight has found herself dissatisfied with her unconventional marriage. Her husband teaches in the same department at the same small college and under investigation for past sexual relationships with his students. Vladimir, new to the department, has become a distraction.
I love a character study, so spending the length of this novel in her head was a dark and cynical ride. She’s brilliant, but at her age is questioning her looks, her relationships, and her career. The writing is edgy and riveting and I could have read this in one sitting. I wish it had a different cover (sorry Vladimir, I don’t want to see your hairy chest), but that’s my biggest complaint.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you are a cover judger., then you've probably picked up this book for the wrong reason. I actually watched a video about how the publisher decided on this cover, just so I could understand it more. After watching the video, and reading the book, I get it...kind of.

At any rate this book is much more academic than the cover gives it credit for. The book is not some smutty romance, but more of a women's fiction/narration on growing older and still being a fully formed sexual person.

Thank you to the publisher for my advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for this review.

The new novel, Vladimir, begins with two perfect people, both tenured professors at a famed liberal arts college in upstate New York. And the unraveling begins. The narrator (the unnamed wife of the couple) tells us that her husband has been accused of sexual crimes against his former students. Strangely, for me, this couple agreed early on that monogamy wasn't required in their marriage. The husband took to that freedom and enjoyed himself for many years until it became no longer acceptable.

This guy is in deep trouble. The husband, Chair of the English department, is being sued by a group of alumnae who came forward and denounced the man for transgressions when they were students. Our narrator tries to categorize the situation and continue with her reputation intact, and her popularity with her students continues as she teaches.

Just as the unraveling begins, a new couple arrives on campus. Vladimir is a brilliant young novelist, and his wife, Cynthia, writes memoirs. Our beloved female professor falls hard in lust with this gorgeous young man. I laughed when I saw the book cover, and I had to keep going back to that so as not to take it all too seriously.

I enjoyed this book and recommend it for a wild read. Being 58 is a difficult stage for many women, and Julia May Jonas has created a perfect set of characters to respond to aging in our society.

Thank you to NG, Julia May Jones, and Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest response.

Vladimir is an intimate portrait of fragility and insecurity. Apart from the horrendous cover, this was a stunning novel.

I love and hated it. It’s one of those books that once you finish you immediately need to find someone else who has read to help guide your reaction. This book would make for an interesting book club discussion. For sure, kudos on the 50+ antihero.

Part WTF did I just read, mixed with a slash of well written, and some I’m curious as to see where this takes me reading journey. That sounds like I didn’t like this book. Oh, but I did! Jonas is a delight to read and I was along for the ride! Can’t wait to read more for this debut author!

For the first ~70% of the book I was convinced this would be a 5-star read. However, the conclusion lost me. I think the mc's supposed obsession with Vladimir was underdeveloped and some of her actions towards the end of the novel felt half-baked. There needed to be more of a conclusion on that part of the story for it to have a real impact. There actually probably needed to be a stronger conclusion for all the storylines, a lot was left open-ended in a dissatisfying way.
Despite that, I really did enjoy the first two-thirds of the story. A lot of the complaints I see for this book are that it lacked plot and was too rambly. I actually quite enjoyed those aspects and found the mc's musings to be insightful. I highlighted quite a few lines and those will be my main takeaway from this story.
If you're a fan of character studies that aren't afraid to make you uncomfortable, this would be the one for you.

My biggest issue with this book is the incredibly misleading cover. It does not represent the book whatso ever and that bothered me. Once I got into the book I immediately recognized the insane writing talents of Jonas and how well she was able to put into words the thought process behind the wife of a professor who’s been sleeping with his students (huge scandal) while also falling in lust with the new professor Vladimir. I loved that this felt like we were reading the diary of her. I think if you like academia and drama this will be an absolute win for you!

Vladimir is Julia May Jonas’s debut. This dark academia literary fiction explores desire, obsession, feminism, and society expectations. I initially heard of this book through @bookofthemonth and was intrigued by the premise and the interesting cover.

Before I go into my review, I say the cover is interesting and not “unfortunate” as others have mentioned because it’s not what we typically see on covers. It kind of reminds me of those historical fiction or smut romances back in the ‘90s when they had people on covers. Do I agree with the cover choice? Maybe not, but because of the conversation around it, it did make me more interested in the book which I have to say was a clever and powerful move from the publisher from a marketing perspective. If you want to learn why the U.S. cover was picked, go check out the video “our CEO explains how a book cover is made” on @simonandschuster. I found this video to be extremely fascinating and loved learning more on what their vision for the book was.

I actually really liked this book! When I was reading the first chapter in the ebook, I was intrigued by the story, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about it. I started listening to the audio and absolutely loved the audiobook narrator, Rebecca Lowman. She really brought out the unnamed narrator’s perspective for me. In terms of the storyline, this is a very character-driven story and liked the pace of it. I also really enjoyed the writing style as well. The perspective is from a late 50s college English professor where her professor husband is under investigation for inappropriate relations with his students. In the midst of that, she starts becoming infatuated over a new celebrated married novelist in his 30s, Vladimir. The narrator explains her open relationship with her husband, her desires, and her innermost thoughts and reflections. Though the unnamed narrator is unlikable, her perspective is fresh, bold, pushes boundaries, and explores the gray area between desire and power. I definitely recommend this to readers who love dark academia! I would recommend reading a sample of the first few pages to see if it’s right for you.

I loved this book so much! The story is from the POV of a woman professor who is married to another professor named John. She and John have had an open relationship through majority of their marriage. It always worked for her and him as well until former students come out against him. Though she has no regrets we start to see it taking a toll on her. While he is being investigated by the college, she develops a total obsession with a new young professor who has joined the college, Vladimir.

The story is totally engrossing. You'll want to stay in this woman's brilliant brain for as long as you can. You get hooked in quick with wanting to see where this dark and sexy obsession takes her. And let me tell you... I was not expecting it to take her where it did. Wow.

This is an incredible debut novel by Julia May Jones. She's an incredible writer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press - Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.