The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

GOODREADS DESCRIPTION

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 secretly 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.

MY REVIEW

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Could not put this book down. It starts off in one direction and then veers into another direction that keeps you tuning in for more. It is a delicious mix of drama, family relationships, societal demands, and figuring out exactly who you want to be. All of these situations and decisions have great consequences and influence the characters lives in such deep and influential ways. I could feel the love and the pain. It drew me in and did not disappoint.

Stella and Desiree Vignes are twins growing up in Mallard, Louisianna, a town so small it is not even on a map. Mallard’s population is made up of mainly light skinned blacks who could pass themselves off as white if they wanted to. Stella and Desiree are light skinned and when they are teens they vanish, skipping town and leaving their mother behind in order to find a better life for themselves. This proves difficult for Desiree but Stella gives in to the temptation of passing herself off as white. For her, this decision means she has to leave her entire life behind including her twin sister and mother. Desiree’s other half vanishes from her life leaving her to wonder whatever became of her. Stella lives a fraudulent life, always looking over her shoulder to make sure no one ever discovers her true identity.

The book goes back and forth in time and switches between characters so that you follow one character’s storyline and then another part of the book fills in what is happening with the other characters. What I loved about this book is that I really liked reading about all the different characters and how their paths eventually cross leading to a dramatic ending. I found it suspenseful at times and very emotional. Even though I found myself disapproving of Stella’s life choices and the way she treated her sister and mother, I could feel her love for the new family she made for herself and the panic she feels when she thinks her background will be exposed. Desiree leads a more difficult life and the contrast between her life and Stella’s is striking.

There are many contrasts in this book: black vs. white, rich vs. poor, love of family vs. love of self, all of which make this story one that tears at your heart and makes you rethink how we treat one another in this life. I found the ending satisfying and realistic and would highly recommend this book.