Vladimir
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Vladimir
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Narrated by:
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Rebecca Lowman
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By:
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Julia May Jonas
About this listen
A Sunday Times Paperback of the Year
'An astonishing debut . . . I was utterly hooked . . . by this twisty, sexy, shocking treat of a novel . . . How on earth will Julia May Jonas better this?' – The Sunday Times
A provocative, razor-sharp, and timely novel about a beloved English professor facing a slew of accusations against her husband from his 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 meet our deliciously incisive narrator: a popular English professor whose husband, a charismatic professor 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 extramarital pursuits, but with these new allegations, life has become far less comfortable for them both.
And when our unnamed 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.
Julia May Jonas takes us into charged territory, where the restrictions of morality bump up against the impulses of the human heart. Darkly funny and moving, Vladimir maps the personal and political minefield of our current moment, exposing the messy contradictions of power and desire.
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Critic reviews
"If Netflix’s The Chair, Lisa Taddeo’s best seller Three Women, and the most compelling passages of Ottessa Moshfegh’s Death in Her Hands had a love child (just go with me here), it would be this fiction debut. With a title character who’s a sought-after young novelist new to a college faculty, Vladimir leaves the reader with more questions than answers—about sex, and sexual politics—in the most delicious way." (Entertainment Weekly)
What listeners say about Vladimir
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Nichola
- 16-01-23
Thought provoking
The performance was perfect and the book itself was thought provoking and enjoyable. The story made me think about feminism, generational differences, power dynamics, and attraction. It was very well written and the characters were well developed (even if they were not always likeable). I didn’t care much for ending however but overall I would recommend this book.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 14-07-22
Have a listen!
Loved this twisty decent into the story of the narrator. I enjoyed very much
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- dean stewart
- 27-07-22
Beautiful writing, unsympathetic characters
As the heading suggests, this is an at times wonderfully written piece that for me was spoilt a little by none of the characters being particularly likeable which also robbed the denouement of its power.
Very good choice of narrator though which ensured an enjoyable listen.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- G.
- 26-07-22
Well written but basically woke drivel,
This is nothing like as good as I had hoped, wordy, obsessive, self indulgent !
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 21-07-22
Compelling
Overall quite compelling. A tried and true theme - passion, pitting the hero against society - from an original and interesting perspective. Had it had a bit less rumination and a bit more focus on the main plot it would have been excellent. The beginning was good; the middle sagged a bit - there were moments when the narrator seems almost to forget about her love interest (which made her claims of obsession somewhat less convincing) - but the tempo certainly picked up in the last part. The narrator was great.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 24-02-23
Fascinating narrator.
I love a narrator that I can't quite trust. Make that narrator fascinating, intriguing and at times laugh out loud funny and you are well on the way to having something that people want to read or listen to.
I don't get the fuss about the ending, this wasn't a joke needing a punchline or a whodunnit needing a killer. It is a version of a life that is still ongoing at the end of the book.
Brilliantly read.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Seethergrrl
- 15-01-24
Good Story, Great Narrator
First chapter of two didn't grab me but I'm glad I stuck with it as it really gets going. Narrator is great.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- CL099
- 12-10-23
Controversial yet engrossing
I was intrigued by the protagonist’s thought-provoking perspective, even if I disagreed with her. Men like her professor husband, John, who take advantage of women and engage in casual relationships nonstop, should make it clear to the women from the get-go that they are only interested in casual relationships. They should also communicate the openness of their marriages, as it seems the students he slept with were unaware that John’s wife supported his extramarital affairs. Hopefully, then, some women and students might steer clear.
I wouldn't say I liked the cover of the suggestive book’s cover (presumably Vladimir’s chest).
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dr Adam James Smith
- 20-07-22
Incredibly well observed, thrilling read
A darkly compelling mediation on where we are, deliriously satisfying as a thriller, a satire and a deeply literary diagnosis of our contemporary culture.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kristin
- 22-05-23
unexpected and lazily pleasant
This is one of those books I believe to be very well done. Even though I cannot don't like some narrative choices towards the end, I think it is very well pieced together.
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