The Performance of Race

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is a beautiful historical fiction novel about black people tackling the issues of race and colorism.

The story follows the Vignes twins, Desiree and Stella, who live in a small town called Mallard — so small that you can’t even find it on a map.

Mallard is populated only by light-skinned black people who know that white people will never accept them but, at the same time don’t what to be treated as negroes.

At the age of sixteen, the sisters decide to run away to New Orleans.

After being there for a while, Stella gets a job passing as white which leads her to move away, leaving Desiree behind.

Desiree then continues living her life as a black woman, while Stella lives her life as a white woman.

From that point onwards, we watch how their lives diverge and collide and the impact their choices have on their children’s lives.

This is an amazing multigenerational story that had me hooked from the very first page.

“She hadn’t realized how long it takes to become somebody else, or how lonely it can be living in a world not meant for you.”

― Brit Bennett, The Vanishing Half

The Vanishing Half is a beautifully written book that deals with serious themes that I haven’t seen many books dealing with. At least not in the way that Brit Bennett did.

Themes included in this book:

• Racism
• Colorism
• Passing
• Classism
• Identity issues
• Domestic Violence
• LGBTQIA+
• Sexism

What I Liked About This Book

The biggest strength of this book is for sure the characters.

The story is told from the point of view of 6 different characters. Although there is a focus on the twins (Desiree and Stella), we also get the point of view of their daughters (Jude and Kennedy), Jude’s boyfriend and Desiree’s love interest.

Although it might seem like a lot, the characters were so amazingly written that it was easy to follow along.

There are a lot of books that don’t even have a main character that is well written, with depth and development. And then there’s this book with characters that have so much dimension that makes it easy for the reader to get attached to them.

I became invested in each character’s individual journeys as they grappled with their sense of identity.

I loved how real they all felt. They are complex. There are layers to them. And you see them grow and evolve.

Brit Bennett did a fantastic job of creating and portraying these characters in such an authentic way.

The relationships between all the characters and the confrontations felt genuine and realistic.

Another strength of this book is the setting. The descriptions are so well written that you feel as if you are there.

This book doesn’t develop in chronological order, which was something that I also enjoyed about it. But because I mainly listened to the audiobook, there were moments of confusion when there were time jumps.

But it was easy enough to find my place and follow along.

Final Thoughts

I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads. It is definitely a new favorite of mine.

Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half is thought-provoking, extremely emotional, soul-crushing, and realistic. It will shake you to the core.

It’s a great book to read, think about, discuss, and then read again. It will stay with me forever.

The writing is incredibly engaging and I truly enjoyed each chapter. The unforgettable characters, the complex familial ties, the tragedy, and the romance. From the very first page, until the very end, Brit Bennett’s writing is incredibly engaging. It was hard to put it down.

There is love, mystery, heartache, fear, anger, grief, and everything in between.

I highly recommend it to fiction and historical fiction genre lovers.

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