Ela Lee’s debut novel, Jaded, (Simon & Schuster 3/19/2024) is a sharp and raw depiction of the complete mind fuckery a sexual assault does on a person. Before getting into the review/reaction, I must stress that this novel is not for everyone, and it’s okay if you are not in the headspace to read it or if you have no desire to read it. It is okay. If you are the victim of a sexual assault, I urge you to reach out for help. You can speak with someone at National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673).
Jade is the biracial daughter of immigrants. Jade is her “Starbucks name” because it’s easier than her actual name, which is Ceyda. Korean and Turkish, Jade doesn’t quite feel like she “fits” anywhere, and she’s spent her life bending over backwards to be the “perfect” daughter, student, girlfriend, employee. Her hard work has paid off as she an associate at a prestigious law firm in London and she’s been in a steady relationship with a wealthy white man for seven years. She is not only succeeding – she is thriving. At least she is until a firm party where she is preyed upon by one of the partners – a man you can’t say no to, not if you want to keep your job. He is hellbent on getting her pliably drunk. She is “saved” from these unwanted advanced by a colleague, who promises to get her home safely. When she wakes up, her mind is fuzzy, her body is sore, there are bruises on her legs and arms, and she is bleeding such that she believes her period has started. The assault comes back to her in flashes, and she begins to unravel. She starts having panic attacks, develops an eating disorder, avoids taxis, has horrific nightmares, and continues to bleed from the vaginal trauma. She feels unsafe in her home, at work, and even on the streets. Rumors circulate at work and eventually get back to her boyfriend that she had sex with a coworker.
Jade’s friends aren’t oblivious to her struggle; they just don’t know what’s wrong. When she finally tells them, Adele tells her to report it and Eve tells her to just keep quiet and move on. Eve, a true chameleon, has been molding, fitting, performing and using her body to advance her career for years – she takes the assaults, leers, comments, and gropes as just part of her job description, a necessary evil for advancement. Jade’s boyfriend is skeptical that she’s telling the truth and is, at times, angry, understanding, and dismissive. As Jade unravels, the reader sees just how toxic her relationship with him is, even before the rape – something it takes Jade a bit longer to realize.
The novel also dances around the nervous condition of a biracial child of immigrants and the fractured relationship she has with her parents, and the disconnect she feels, in particular, with her Korean heritage and the unspoken generational trauma of her mother. Of note is the use of kintsugi. Jade knows how it’s become a “kitsch, insta-metaphor for embracing one’s setbacks or flaws.” But she also knows that her mother’s use of it stems from Japan having colonized her homeland and the need to make something that is broken functional.
Jaded does not flinch, does not sugar coat, does not bend. It’s a raw and biting portrayal that still sings with heart and hope.
A Girl Named Tommi 