Muriel (The Purple Bookwyrm) answers “What was missing in Vanessa's childhood...”

A Goodreads user asked this question about My Dark Vanessa:

What was missing in Vanessa's childhood that made her such easy pickings? I kept waiting for some psychological explanation from her therapist. Vanessa was an only child and, except for a mother who was annoyingly intrusive and sometimes critical, there was no abuse, nothing to make her crave such intense "adoration," no explanation for her being so easily manipulated.

Muriel (The Purple Bookwyrm) *Edited* I also thought there was a lot missing in her characterization overall, and I now think that Ms. Russell's character work wasn't all that goo…more*Edited* I also thought there was a lot missing in her characterization overall, and I now think that Ms. Russell's character work wasn't all that good. Sure, there were bread crumbs here and there, but eh, it was mostly disappointing. Vanessa feels pretty empty as a character, and most of time I felt Ms. Russell was telling us, now showing us, who she was supposed to be. I speak from experience here: my being in a very similar abusive relationship, between the ages of 13 and 20, didn't "erase" my personality. And there were definitely elements to my previous life history that made me, in hindsight, particularly vulnerable to being groomed. (less)

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