Classics

Passing

Passing

  • Downloads：8856
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-08-12 11:21:35
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Nella Larsen
  • ISBN：1713644371
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Light-skinned Black woman Irene Redfield encounters an old childhood friend - Clare - who is now "passing" as a White woman。 Clare is married to a racist White man， who doesn't know she has African American blood。 In spite of the danger of being found out by her husband and society at large， she finds herself helplessly drawn to Irene's world。。。。 

Passing is a fascinating listening experience on many simultaneous levels。

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Reviews

Stacy Wittenberg ，

I'm not sure what star to give this。。。 it is outside my reading comfort zone and not a particularly enjoyable read- since it covers such an uncomfortable topic （a black woman passing as white， while still trying to keep connected to her black community）。 However， the writing is excellent- the author captures the angst and frustration of the situation brilliantly。 Although I wouldn't say I liked the book， it was thought provoking， compelling and it has staying power。 I'm not sure what star to give this。。。 it is outside my reading comfort zone and not a particularly enjoyable read- since it covers such an uncomfortable topic （a black woman passing as white， while still trying to keep connected to her black community）。 However， the writing is excellent- the author captures the angst and frustration of the situation brilliantly。 Although I wouldn't say I liked the book， it was thought provoking， compelling and it has staying power。 。。。more

Abby ，

It didn’t feel good。 Or great。 It felt heavy and angry。

Shannon Vanderstreaten ，

Finally， a classic actually worth reading！ It was full of intrigue and suspense， it felt quite unsettling and uncomfortable in places in the best sort of way。 And I wasn’t expecting the ending！ The topic is of passing is maybe not as prescient in our modern culture， but stuff can still be drawn out around colourism and Blackfishing as a weird sort of reverse of this。 Defo recommend

Shachar ，

While reading Passing， I also watched The Human Stain， the movie adaptation of the Philip Roth novel of the same name。 I noted how much more superior the former was to the latter。 How grounded in reality it was -- deriving from the actual experience of a Black woman with both European and African roots。 She wrote Irene and Clare with care， and I think they're that much more interesting for it。I do wonder whether Clare was maligned and judged for choosing to pass。 Whether that judgment would be t While reading Passing， I also watched The Human Stain， the movie adaptation of the Philip Roth novel of the same name。 I noted how much more superior the former was to the latter。 How grounded in reality it was -- deriving from the actual experience of a Black woman with both European and African roots。 She wrote Irene and Clare with care， and I think they're that much more interesting for it。I do wonder whether Clare was maligned and judged for choosing to pass。 Whether that judgment would be that much harsher through 21st century eyes。 For that reason， I'm excited to watch the upcoming film adaptation。 And to see how Black women bring this story to light。 。。。more

Ali Mcdonnell ，

Hard to believe it was written in 1929。 Applicable to today。

Mim ᭟᭜᭟ ，

obsessed！ so compelling and rich in questions of race， gender， class and sexuality。 This should be more widely read and taught it’s greatly thought provoking and also very “two beautiful women are gal pals and also mothers” provoking， to me personally

Jessica Grove ，

3。5 stars。 Short story。 Similar to “The Vanishing Half。”

Tesilyaraven ，

I became interested in the topic of "passing" when I read （and was disappointed by the writing in） The Vanishing Half。 I came across this book by Nella Larsen （a Harlem Renaissance author） in the library。 While elements of it were unbelievable， I loved the writing and the tension between Irene and Clare （who passes as white and hides her identity from her racist husband）， but is drawn back to the community she left behind。 Glad I stumbled across this gem of a novella。 I became interested in the topic of "passing" when I read （and was disappointed by the writing in） The Vanishing Half。 I came across this book by Nella Larsen （a Harlem Renaissance author） in the library。 While elements of it were unbelievable， I loved the writing and the tension between Irene and Clare （who passes as white and hides her identity from her racist husband）， but is drawn back to the community she left behind。 Glad I stumbled across this gem of a novella。 。。。more

Garland ，

A solid read with some poignant moments， but I still don’t really get the ending。 Maybe it’ll make sense someday。 🙀🙀🙀

Blanche ，

overdrive audio book。 This one just didn't work for me。。。 overdrive audio book。 This one just didn't work for me。。。 。。。more

Ebirdy ，

This book was on my TBR for many years - I had suggested it at one time for a book group I used to be in。 I read recently that it's either being made into a movie or something for TV so I figured it was time to read it。The version of the book that I got from the library was a "Critical edition" - it had not just the story but many reviews published when the book was published and other features like the news stories from a trial mentioned in the book， writing by other Black authors etc。It turns This book was on my TBR for many years - I had suggested it at one time for a book group I used to be in。 I read recently that it's either being made into a movie or something for TV so I figured it was time to read it。The version of the book that I got from the library was a "Critical edition" - it had not just the story but many reviews published when the book was published and other features like the news stories from a trial mentioned in the book， writing by other Black authors etc。It turns out that the story itself is a novella - just about 82 pages long。 I read the story first and then worked my way through the reviews and some of the news stories from the Rhinelander trial which also happened in the the mid 1920s。The story itself was interesting。 The writing style was very dispassionate and her use of split infinitives I found annoying。 Most of the characters spoke in a very high tone。 The ending was/is controversial - I don't know if I found it believable or not。 Reading the various reviews after reading the story gave me a lot to think about and enhanced the story for me。 Also reading the trial news from the Rhinelander trial helped place the story in the times and gave context。All in all this is a good story to read because the topic was so interesting and the views on it were well presented by the characters - why someone would do this， why someone who could do this would not， etc。 。。。more

Kelli ，

Hauntingly the same， a hundred years later。

Star Forbis ，

“And yet she hadn’t the air of a woman whose life had been touched by uncertainty or suffering。 Pain， fear， and grief were things that left their mark on people。 Even live， that exquisite torturing emotion， left its subtle traces on the countenance。”“She wished to find out about this hazardous business of “passing”， this breaking away from all that was familiar and friendly to take one’s chance in another environment， not entirely strange， perhaps， but certainly not entirely friendly。”“I think， “And yet she hadn’t the air of a woman whose life had been touched by uncertainty or suffering。 Pain， fear， and grief were things that left their mark on people。 Even live， that exquisite torturing emotion， left its subtle traces on the countenance。”“She wished to find out about this hazardous business of “passing”， this breaking away from all that was familiar and friendly to take one’s chance in another environment， not entirely strange， perhaps， but certainly not entirely friendly。”“I think， she said at last， that being a mother is the cruelest thing in the world。”“Have you ever stopped to think， Clare， Irene demanded， how much unhappiness and downright cruelty are laid to the loving-kindness of the Lord？ And always by His most ardent followers， it seems。” 。。。more

Coleen Summey ，

A wonderful pairing with the Vanishing Half。

Joe ，

Exquisitely written tale of Black women passing as white， and the fallout when one of them “goes too far。” Fascinating and suspenseful， with flawless late 20’s detail and very memorable dialogue – reminded me of other great “everything simmering under the surface” novels like THE AGE OF INNOCENCE。 Highly recommended。 Robin Miles does a fabulous job reading the audiobook。

Rogue Male ，

9/10

Kandise ，

Yeow， that ending！

Julie ，

Beautifully written！

Claire ，

I liked it。 Very interesting character portrait， was a window into a world I don’t know anything （really） about， made it that much more real。 Ending was wild and I can’t decide if I liked that or not。 I think so？ But it left me wanting more。

DS Coremans ，

‘Passing’ is one of those short， yet significant stories that everyone should read， yet not everyone will understand fully upon first reading。 “Then， too， I wanted things。 I knew I wasn’t bad-looking and that I could ‘pass。’ You can’t know， ‘Rene， how， when I used to go over to the South Side， I used almost to hate all of you。 You had all the things I wanted and never had had。 It made me all the more determined to get them， and others。 Do you， can you understand what I felt？”This quote from earl ‘Passing’ is one of those short， yet significant stories that everyone should read， yet not everyone will understand fully upon first reading。 “Then， too， I wanted things。 I knew I wasn’t bad-looking and that I could ‘pass。’ You can’t know， ‘Rene， how， when I used to go over to the South Side， I used almost to hate all of you。 You had all the things I wanted and never had had。 It made me all the more determined to get them， and others。 Do you， can you understand what I felt？”This quote from early in the first act is perhaps the best summary of the ‘passing’ antisyzygy， the desire and act of maintaining multiple and distinct， simultaneously held personalities or behaviours which are often contradictory。 Through the lens of race the practice and ramifications of passing are expertly explored， offering insight rather than answers。 As a reader we are encouraged to question everything， even the reliability of our narrator。 ‘Passing’ should be on your reading list and well deserves the place it holds in literary canon。 Larsen is a frank， bold and brave author whose voice resonates today as much as it did when first published。 DS Coremanswww。fodibyli。com#FoDiByLi 。。。more

Dawn ，

NYT Book Club2021 Challenge: book with same name as a song

Alice ，

I like the direction the book went for in the second half a little less， so that's why I'm giving it 4 stars and not 5， but it was overall brilliant。 I like the direction the book went for in the second half a little less， so that's why I'm giving it 4 stars and not 5， but it was overall brilliant。 。。。more

Elaine Tronic ，

I enjoyed this better than The Vanishing Half。

weeoo ，

5/5: This is a horror movie and I love it。

Blossom ，

loved this book， it was such an interesting read and i highly recommend it

Jena ，

This was so good and I had the sense while reading it that this was one of those books that's going to randomly pop in my head from time to time。 Blackness and racial identity is the core of this book， but it also packs in a lot of other themes without feeling overwhelming。 There's also a lot of queer subtext （I'd argue it's overt but given the time period this was written in， probably safer to call it subtext）。 I really liked the writing style as well， it had a flow to it that made the story fe This was so good and I had the sense while reading it that this was one of those books that's going to randomly pop in my head from time to time。 Blackness and racial identity is the core of this book， but it also packs in a lot of other themes without feeling overwhelming。 There's also a lot of queer subtext （I'd argue it's overt but given the time period this was written in， probably safer to call it subtext）。 I really liked the writing style as well， it had a flow to it that made the story feel like it stretched out for longer when it was really under 200 pgs。Content warnings: anti-black racism， specifically racial slursRepresentation: both of the main characters are black women， one of the women is biracial 。。。more

Emily ，

THE END

Dorothy Meyer ，

An incredible depth is packed into this 114 page novella。 A necessary companion read for anyone who enjoyed the 2020 best seller The Vanishing Half。

Elizabeth Dunn ，

Published 1929–Our protagonist， Irene， is a light-skinned African American woman married to a doctor who is also African-American。 They live in Harlem and socialize with other professional-class Blacks ca。 1927。 Irene runs into a woman who had disappeared from their social circle 12 years earlier—Claire。 Claire is also light skinned and has created a new life passing as white。 Claire’s white， racist husband Jack does not know his wife is a Negro and makes it plain that he hates all of them。 Jack Published 1929–Our protagonist， Irene， is a light-skinned African American woman married to a doctor who is also African-American。 They live in Harlem and socialize with other professional-class Blacks ca。 1927。 Irene runs into a woman who had disappeared from their social circle 12 years earlier—Claire。 Claire is also light skinned and has created a new life passing as white。 Claire’s white， racist husband Jack does not know his wife is a Negro and makes it plain that he hates all of them。 Jack assumes that Irene is also white， and neither Claire nor Irene corrects him。 In fact no one in Claire’s life knows her true racial identity and Claire is feeling lonely， isolated。Claire asserts and manipulates herself into Irene’s world in order to be around other African Americans when Jack is away on business。 Irene begins to suspect that Claire is having an affair with Irene’s husband。 Irene considers telling Jack the truth about Claire in order to get Claire out of their lives， but recognizes how harmful that could be and decides not to。 One day Jack sees Irene out shopping with a woman who is obviously African American。 The look on his face tells Irene that he suddenly understands Irene is Black and that this will lead to trouble for Claire。 The tension continues to build as the reader knows that somehow， in some way， there will be a confrontation。 The climax and resolution are very satisfying。 The book exposes the tension between advancing oneself and the duty to “lift the race。” It also deals with the precarious social and economic position of the wives of professional men in the 1920s。 A threat to a woman’s marriage is a threat to her social and economic security。 A fast and captivating read。 。。。more

Julia Dickerson ，

In all honesty， I had to read this as a requirement for schooling， but I enjoyed it。 It is a bit slow at the beginning， but a really engaging book and quite interesting。 I personally loved the footnotes that Larsen provides， and the story is nicely complex。 I would read it again on my own time。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Passing

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Passing&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Passing&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0