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The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennet



The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect?

Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins. 


What's it about?

The repercussions of a light-skinned black woman's decision to spend her life as passing as white. 

What is it?

A story that follows the sisters, then their daughters, through their lives. It's about skin and how it determines what a life can become, and about identity - in more forms than just race.

What isn't it?

Arguably, a story about a light-skinned black woman's decision to spend her life passing as white. That premise was less centred in the story than I expected - there are more stories here than that one.

Why do you recommend it?

Because I really enjoyed the characterisation. Because it offers a fascinating exploration of colourism and internalised racism. Because it's an engaging, interesting novel by a writer who is excellent at what she does.

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