The Vanishing Half

Brit Bennett

Fiction 2020 | 352 pages

four-hearts

“Brilliant, stunning, eloquent, gorgeous, thought-provoking, intricate, moving.”  These are just some of the words reviewers have written, and for good reason.  The Vanishing Half is a novel about identical twin sisters, Desiree and Stella, born in 1952, in a minuscule Louisiana town that prides itself on breeding light-skinned Black people, some of whom are light enough to pass for White.  And Stella does, separating herself from her twin and her family for 25 years.  They each have a daughter ... Jude, who is so black they call her “blue black” and Kennedy, a blond violet-eyed beauty.  The daughters’ lives eventually intersect and, of course, all their lives are irrevocably altered.

The story is exceptional and difficult to put down. I was often reading pages this last week at 3:30 in the morning.  The writing is simply superb. Brit Bennett was listed by Time magazine on March 8 as one of the next “100 Most Influential People in the World.”

There is no hesitation on my part.  Read this four-heart book as soon as you can get your hands on it ... there is already a long wait for it at your library!

March 2021

 

 

 

5 responses on “The Vanishing Half

  1. Mary Cary Crawford

    I put this on my list as soon as I learned about it. Loved her earlier book The Mothers.

  2. Mary Cary Crawford

    Just finished this book. It was good. Excellent writing, compelling story. Yet, I liked The Mothers much more. It’s been long enough ago when I read it that I can’t tell you specifics about why. Will be interested it get your reaction.