The Vanishing Half - Brit Bennett
The Vanishing Half is a fascinating novel; a timely story of race, identity, class, sexuality, gender, and how we can each experience these constructs in myriad ways.
Bennett presents a complex, multi-generational story in a digestible, and engaging manner as we follow Desiree and Stella, two twin sisters from a town called Mallard, known for its light-skinned Black population, as they head out into the world; one deciding to live her life as white, and the other living her life Black.
Of course, neither sister’s journey is easy, and as we see how Desiree and Stella’s lives diverge, we’re left to ponder the lives of two women, and how their choices affect those around them, including the children they bring into the world.
As a white reader, I’m not going to sit here and pretend to grasp the complexity of much of the racial elements of this novel, but I will say that I found the exploration of ‘passing’ a fascinating, and superbly crafted one. Stella - the true star of this story - is a well-rounded protagonist as any I have ever read, and the glimpses of her fear, rage, disappointment, and guilt were as palpable as her bravery.
My only critique of The Vanishing Half would be that, for a novel that explores such heavy themes, it felt very light. I would have gladly read two-hundred more pages of Bennett’s prose to dive deeper into the heads of certain characters.
Reese, for example, is a transgender man, in a relationship with Desiree’s daughter, Jude. To explore the journey of a Trans man in 1970s America is a bold one, but we are never fully able to feel his plight, as there simply isn’t enough time given to this particular sub-plot. It’s a minor critique and one that will likely be remedied in the recently announced HBO adaptation.
Ultimately, Bennett has written a wonderfully rich story of a family fractured by choices, and we follow that family and the aftermath of those choices on a poignant journey so relevant to us right now.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
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