This Is Not a Love Story
New York magazine|February 17 - March 1, 2020
When she started writing My Dark Vanessa at 16, Kate Elizabeth Russell saw her story about a student’s affair with a teacher as a romance. She sees it differently now.
Lila Shapiro
This Is Not a Love Story

KATE ELIZABETH RUSSELL traces the beginning of her obsession with Lolita to an encounter with the musician Jakob Dylan. It was 1997, and the novelist was 13 years old, precocious and bored, living on an isolated lake some 15 miles east of Bangor, Maine. Dylan, then in his late 20s, was coming to town with his band, the Wallflowers, and he wanted to meet Stephen King, the local royalty. Russell’s father happened to be a DJ for King’s radio station, and he arranged a dinner. Russell and her cousin got to tag along. She remembers trembling through the meal, struggling to contain her excitement as she watched the charismatic frontman tear apart a bread roll with his hands. Later, she read everything she could find about him. In a Rolling Stone profile, he declared his favorite book was Lolita. She couldn’t check the book out from her local library—every copy had been lost or stolen—but she discovered the text on a rudimentary website and felt a thrill when she realized it was about a sexual relationship between a girl around her own age and a much older man. “I didn’t know that was an option,” she recalled thinking at the time.

This story is from the February 17 - March 1, 2020 edition of New York magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the February 17 - March 1, 2020 edition of New York magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM NEW YORK MAGAZINEView All
Unmasking Diddy
New York magazine

Unmasking Diddy

The rap mogul shook off decades of rumored bad behavior with wholesome PR revamps. Now the allegations against him are his legacy.

time-read
8 mins  |
April 22 – May 05, 2024
Staging Sufjan
New York magazine

Staging Sufjan

How playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury turned a classic indie-rock album into a Justin Peck-choreographed dance piece that's now Broadway bound.

time-read
4 mins  |
April 22 – May 05, 2024
Justin Kuritzkes Serves an Ace
New York magazine

Justin Kuritzkes Serves an Ace

With his first movie script for the erotic tennis drama Challengers, he has gone from struggling playwright to in-demand screenwriter.

time-read
8 mins  |
April 22 – May 05, 2024
To Brooklyn, by Way of Paris and Rome
New York magazine

To Brooklyn, by Way of Paris and Rome

A whirlwind week with Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri as she stages the brand's first New York runway show in a decade.

time-read
3 mins  |
April 22 – May 05, 2024
A Burlesque Family at Home
New York magazine

A Burlesque Family at Home

Showbiz couple Angie Pontani and Brian Newman’s high-spirited Marine Park house.

time-read
3 mins  |
April 22 – May 05, 2024
A Bistro With Shish Barak
New York magazine

A Bistro With Shish Barak

Huda impressively balances its many influences.

time-read
3 mins  |
April 22 – May 05, 2024
THE 'DEBATE ME BRO
New York magazine

THE 'DEBATE ME BRO

Mehdi Hasan's aggressive interviewing style landed him a Sunday show on MSNBC. Until he started talking about Palestine.

time-read
10+ mins  |
April 22 – May 05, 2024
THE MAN WHO GOSSIPED TOO MUCH
New York magazine

THE MAN WHO GOSSIPED TOO MUCH

For almost two decades, JOHN NELSON anonymously published blind items skewering the Hollywood elite on the blog CRAZY DAYS AND NIGHTS. Then his identity was revealed in the midst of a messy affair.

time-read
10+ mins  |
April 22 – May 05, 2024
TODD BLANCHE IS A SURPRISINGLY COMPETENT LAWYER. AND HE'S ON TRACK TO KEEP HIS CLIENT OUT OF JAIL UNTIL THE ELECTION. IN DEFENSE OF TRUMP
New York magazine

TODD BLANCHE IS A SURPRISINGLY COMPETENT LAWYER. AND HE'S ON TRACK TO KEEP HIS CLIENT OUT OF JAIL UNTIL THE ELECTION. IN DEFENSE OF TRUMP

TODD BLANCHE WAS looking for his man. Or it could be a woman, but probably not.

time-read
10+ mins  |
April 22 – May 05, 2024
Self: Emma Alpern
New York magazine

Self: Emma Alpern

In Outer Space Why do so many women believe their bodies are controlled by the moon?

time-read
6 mins  |
April 22 – May 05, 2024