The Vanishing Half
- Downloads：4567
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-02-25 22:52:46
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Brit Bennett
- ISBN：0525536299
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Twins， inseparable as children， ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds: one black and one white。
The Vignes 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， including their racial identities。 Many years later， one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape。 Across the country， the other secretly passes for white， and her white husband knows nothing of her past。 Still， although separated by so many miles and just as many lies， the fates of the twins remain intertwined。 What will happen when their own daughters' story lines intersect？
Weaving together multiple strands and generations， from the Deep South to California， from the 1950s to the 1990s， The Vanishing Half is at once a riveting， emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of of race， gender， and identity， and the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's desires and expectations。
The Vignes 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， including their racial identities。 Many years later， one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape。 Across the country， the other secretly passes for white， and her white husband knows nothing of her past。 Still， although separated by so many miles and just as many lies， the fates of the twins remain intertwined。 What will happen when their own daughters' story lines intersect？
Weaving together multiple strands and generations， from the Deep South to California， from the 1950s to the 1990s， The Vanishing Half is at once a riveting， emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of of race， gender， and identity， and the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's desires and expectations。
Reviews
Meagaan
，
5 stars
Carolien
，
Desiree and Stella Vignes disappeared from Mallard， a tiny place in Louisiana， a decade ago and subsequently made decisions that saw their lives take very different routes。 The book traces the outcomes of these decisions over four decades and various locations。 Beautifully written with complex characters， I enjoyed it very much。
Kritanjali Sarda
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The book spans across 3 generations and skips across different timelines。 It explores the themes of racism， colourism，familial ties， domestic abuse，self identity and the consequences one lie can have on your whole life。 Loved the writing style and the themes explored in the book。 The only thing which disappointed me was that we do not get much from the trans character in the book and I wish this was a character which should have been developed so much more。Also， loved listening to the audiobook The book spans across 3 generations and skips across different timelines。 It explores the themes of racism， colourism，familial ties， domestic abuse，self identity and the consequences one lie can have on your whole life。 Loved the writing style and the themes explored in the book。 The only thing which disappointed me was that we do not get much from the trans character in the book and I wish this was a character which should have been developed so much more。Also， loved listening to the audiobook for this one！ 。。。more
Elise Lemen
，
I Vanished into this BookMy heart was with each character all the way though。 None of them were extraordinary yet their normal lives is what made the heart breaks more real and the wonder more beautiful。
Paris
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Totally up my street。 Intersecting characters， storyline’s and relationships。 Beautifully written。 It is at once subtle and not so subtle in its exploration of racism and I enjoyed the way it dealt with universal themes of identity， belonging and community。 One thing I felt was under explored/unnecessary was Reese’s personal storyline。
Amina Ahsan
，
Interesting read。Story about how the choices we make define us。 Sorry about Identity and how race and gender fit into the identity we create for ourselves。
Triin Bõstrov
，
DNF 15%。
Leah Boylan
，
A very enjoyable read， and a book that feels like it could become a classic/required reading in high school。 Every few pages Bennett has a turn of phrase that just sinks you 。 The psychological angst she pulls out of Stella in the passing chapters is so under the surface it borders on horror。 I really enjoyed reading this。
tattwa
，
Dawno żadna książka nie sprawiła mi tyle przyjemności。 Tak po prostu。 To nie jest powieść， która wgniata w ziemię rozmachem， to nie jest coś， co czyta się ze ściśniętym żołądkiem。 To po prostu świetnie opowiedziana historia， która płynie tak， że chciałoby się więcej i więcej。 Świetnie ujęta problematyka tożsamości， pochodzenia， „rasy”， odmienności i samookreślenia。 Koncepcja binarności （w kilku różnych kontekstach） jest tu dekonstruowana z wdziękiem i lekkością， ale konsekwentnie， Bennett nie bi Dawno żadna książka nie sprawiła mi tyle przyjemności。 Tak po prostu。 To nie jest powieść， która wgniata w ziemię rozmachem， to nie jest coś， co czyta się ze ściśniętym żołądkiem。 To po prostu świetnie opowiedziana historia， która płynie tak， że chciałoby się więcej i więcej。 Świetnie ujęta problematyka tożsamości， pochodzenia， „rasy”， odmienności i samookreślenia。 Koncepcja binarności （w kilku różnych kontekstach） jest tu dekonstruowana z wdziękiem i lekkością， ale konsekwentnie， Bennett nie bierze przy tym jeńców。 Czysta przyjemność， bez zgrzytów。 。。。more
Coco Day
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idk i think this book was overhyped for me :/ i expected more but nothing really happened and that’s why it took SO long for me to get through。。。 i was bored！
Brandy Maffei
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This book was so good！
Kanica
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kept me hooked till the last。。
Morgan
，
Rtc
Michelle Cohn
，
So not what I thoughtI really dont know what I thought this book was going to be about。 Lately I have been "cold reading" and it has been one of the best decisions ever。 Since recently the "descriptions" of books or the inside flaps really dont line up with what I read。 This one was amazing。 I grew up in a town and in a schooling system that was and is VERY multi cultural and I had friends who were like Desiree and Stella。 And to see it written was beautiful。 So not what I thoughtI really dont know what I thought this book was going to be about。 Lately I have been "cold reading" and it has been one of the best decisions ever。 Since recently the "descriptions" of books or the inside flaps really dont line up with what I read。 This one was amazing。 I grew up in a town and in a schooling system that was and is VERY multi cultural and I had friends who were like Desiree and Stella。 And to see it written was beautiful。 。。。more
Nicole Omotunde
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Definitely lives up to the hype。 Amazing story telling， well written。 The story was captivating I felt transported，each page electric。 I wished the book was a bit loner to add more depth into colorism>> Jude and her freedom and security as a dark skin Black women as her mothers naivety of raising Jude in her hometown and the trauma it cause her。。。 moving from one traumatic experience to another 。 Nonetheless the booked covered so many themes beautifully thus why I wish it were longer。 To add mor Definitely lives up to the hype。 Amazing story telling， well written。 The story was captivating I felt transported，each page electric。 I wished the book was a bit loner to add more depth into colorism>> Jude and her freedom and security as a dark skin Black women as her mothers naivety of raising Jude in her hometown and the trauma it cause her。。。 moving from one traumatic experience to another 。 Nonetheless the booked covered so many themes beautifully thus why I wish it were longer。 To add more nuance to the characters （particularly Reese and his experiences ）。 。。。more
Emily Clement
，
Wow - I think this book is worthy of its hype！ The only knock I have against it is it does start off quite slow。 But once you hit maybe 1/4 of the way through it really starts to pick up。 The plot is so intricately woven together that you can’t even anticipate what’s next — or anticipate the ending。 It was lovely。 Part of me does wish it ended differently， but we can’t always get what we want as the reader。 I would definitely recommend reading this book， I don’t think you’ll be disappointed。
Richa Parikh
，
4。5
Shawna Rodrigues
，
The depth of the characters; their intricate flaws and ways they fumble to connect and find themselves are the hallmark of this book。 The storyline takes you across multiple lives， stages， and geographies; all of which are necessary to fully grasp the experiences of the characters and the small tendrils that connect them。 I was thoroughly engaged in the book， never sure where the next chapter would lead， and appreciating the skill which brought all the pieces together。 It is a book I highly reco The depth of the characters; their intricate flaws and ways they fumble to connect and find themselves are the hallmark of this book。 The storyline takes you across multiple lives， stages， and geographies; all of which are necessary to fully grasp the experiences of the characters and the small tendrils that connect them。 I was thoroughly engaged in the book， never sure where the next chapter would lead， and appreciating the skill which brought all the pieces together。 It is a book I highly recommend。 My words may be short， but the book has volumes to say。 。。。more
Liam McAdams
，
Deeply emotional and well written。 I don’t want to give much of it away， but I really enjoyed the arc of each of the characters and how they tied together。 This being a book about two identical twins， I think it was interesting to see Bennett draw so many parallels and little idiosyncrasies throughout the actual storyline。
Amy
，
This is the perfect title for this book--so many people are trying to vanish in the story。 An enjoyable read: an intricate web of characters， plot twists， people who can never quite come to terms with their family members' choices。 This is the perfect title for this book--so many people are trying to vanish in the story。 An enjoyable read: an intricate web of characters， plot twists， people who can never quite come to terms with their family members' choices。 。。。more
Joey
，
Beautiful。
Marilyn
，
*SPOILER ALERT！*I got pretty tired of being hammered again and again about the twin who was "passing"， Stella， being so guilty about her lying about who and what she was， but nevertheless enjoying a very opulent lifestyle。 On the other hand， I was not overly impressed with the twin Desiree， who returned to her home town to live with and take care of her mother， because she ran away from her abusive husband， and had to endure a lot of racism from the fellow "black" folk because her daughter， unli *SPOILER ALERT！*I got pretty tired of being hammered again and again about the twin who was "passing"， Stella， being so guilty about her lying about who and what she was， but nevertheless enjoying a very opulent lifestyle。 On the other hand， I was not overly impressed with the twin Desiree， who returned to her home town to live with and take care of her mother， because she ran away from her abusive husband， and had to endure a lot of racism from the fellow "black" folk because her daughter， unlike her， was very black。 She had made a conscious decision to marry a very black Black man and have a child by him， shunning her whiteness。 Why didn't she go somewhere new， to spare her daughter the incredible racism （from other light-skinned black people） she had to endure？This is such a weird book。 We have a transsexual male lead character， who is white， but every black male （except for Early， Desiree's lover） is a total zero。 The lead characters， two very light-skinned black females， one white female， and one very black female， are hard to like and harder to understand。 What was the point of Reese， the transsexual， who was very likable but was only a sidekick to Jude， Desiree's very black daughter？The writing was OK， but not great。 The dialogue was OK。 I look at my review and realize I come off as a total racist， which is ridiculous because I am not。 I feel like you can't dislike a book that is about race without being thought a racist， which is very sad。 。。。more
Stefani
，
This book was fantastic。 This story is driven by the characters and each character is written perfectly。 I loved Jude and Reese 💕。 I would like a whole separate novel about just them ☺️。 Sometimes it got a little confusing keeping up with whose point of view you were on and where in the timeline you were， how far you’ve jumped around， etc。 but the story is just， wow。 Highly recommend this one！
Sara
，
Riveting & beautiful
Michelle
，
Loved it！ Great story and easy to get lost in！
Judy Uckotter
，
Had a hard time staying interested in this book。
Oto Ekpo
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Absolutely loved this book！ It was a thought provoking， eye opening story of colorism within the black community。
Yola
，
I know I would see this one day as a tv series or a movie。 I’m thinking of the character Ruby （Wunmi Mosaku） of Lovecraft Country。 Maybe for Jude。 The characters in this book are delicately outlined to be discovered and to be dissected。 Even Blake could well have his own book。
Savvy
，
The storytelling is great， but the jumping between timelines and characters frustrated me。 You read a chapter， it ends in a cliffhanger but the next chapter is a scene from a faraway character in a faraway time and place。 In this sense， it's kind of like soap operas that rely on cliffhanger scenes but fail to deliver by switching to other scenes。 The book then starts to introduce new characters with tons of background info that I don't care for。However， isn't it sad that the twin that embraced h The storytelling is great， but the jumping between timelines and characters frustrated me。 You read a chapter， it ends in a cliffhanger but the next chapter is a scene from a faraway character in a faraway time and place。 In this sense， it's kind of like soap operas that rely on cliffhanger scenes but fail to deliver by switching to other scenes。 The book then starts to introduce new characters with tons of background info that I don't care for。However， isn't it sad that the twin that embraced her black side lived a fuller life and her daughter made it， despite the odds？ Well， in a way， the white cousin also found herself。 But Stella was lost forever。 All those years she could have shared with her mother。 So sad what racism does to families all around the world （not just in the USA）。 。。。more
Zack Samuels
，
Great book！ Love the pacing and the constant character shift。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Vanishing Half
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Vanishing Half&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Vanishing Half&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0