by Brit Bennett
Riverhead Books, 2020, 343 pages, Historical Fiction
Chafing at the confines of growing up in the small black community of Mallard, Louisiana, in the 1950s, the identical Vignes sisters, Stella and Desiree, decide to run away together and make a new life for themselves in New Orleans. Ten years later, Desiree lives back in Mallard with her mother and her daughter, Jude. Stella has cut all ties with her former self, and secretly passes for white, living in Los Angeles with her white husband and blonde daughter, Kennedy. When Jude and Kennedy cross paths in the 1990s, Stella and Desiree are forced to examine the decisions that led them down such diverse paths.
At its surface, The Vanishing Half is an exploration of the idea of “passing” as one race when you identify as another. But at its heart, this book is about the relationships of parents and siblings, and a discussion of how you define your family. It’s also about the ways we change ourselves in order to make sense of our place in the world. These are tough topics to cover in one book, but Bennett covers each story delicately and with great balance, so that the stories of the past and the future, although entwined together, shine evenly.
Although these books don’t also explore the idea of Passing, readers who appreciate The Vanishing Half may also enjoy reading other contemporary fiction about the black experience, such as Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid and An American Marriage by Tayari Jones.
MB
No comments:
Post a Comment