The Vanishing Half
- Downloads：3965
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-08 13:51:09
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Brit Bennett
- ISBN：0349701474
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
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。 Ten 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？
Reviews
Lou
，
3。5。 This wasn’t amazing and did go on a bit too long for me， but 3 felt too mean。 I did like the storyline
Leire Docky
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4’5“Eso era lo más emocionante de la juventud， la idea de que uno podía ser cualquiera （。。。） luego llegaba la vida adulta， las decisiones tomadas previamente se consolidaban， y uno caía en la cuenta de que todo lo que era se había puesto en marcha años antes。 El resto eran las secuelas”Historia muy interesante， superbien escrita y planteada， unos personajes maravillosos， profunda y entretenida。。。。 Desiree， Stella， Jude， Kennedy， Early y Reese se quedarán conmigo un tiempo。
Mohamed Fofana
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This novel hits on so many topics- motherhood， race， gender， family drama and secrets- and the intricacy in how it’s written， the back and forth from past to present， takes readers on a ride to find the correlations between characters。 Two twins， Desiree and Stella run away at 16 and Desiree comes back to their town of light skin folks with a dark child that becomes the gossip of the small town and readers have no whereabouts about the other sister or why the fuss over Desiree re-emergence。 Benn This novel hits on so many topics- motherhood， race， gender， family drama and secrets- and the intricacy in how it’s written， the back and forth from past to present， takes readers on a ride to find the correlations between characters。 Two twins， Desiree and Stella run away at 16 and Desiree comes back to their town of light skin folks with a dark child that becomes the gossip of the small town and readers have no whereabouts about the other sister or why the fuss over Desiree re-emergence。 Bennett takes you on this quest to find out their stories and what led them to run away and if they’ll ever reunite。 A novel that’ll make you think about the complexities of life and layers that we have as human beings。 。。。more
Olga Retamero
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Me ha encantado la historia， el mensaje， los personajes， los temas que se tratan。。 tengo muchas páginas señaladas con frases a destacar。 La autora me encanta cómo escribe。 Este libro tengo que llevármelo a Cádiz y dejárselo a mamá que le va a gustar。
Dawn
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I went in not even knowing the synopsis of this book and I am so glad - I was genuinely surprised at the results。 I thought this was beautifully written， and very sad。 It left me thinking about the definition of free。
Stephanie Blodgett
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4。5， so good。 Well written characters
Shannan
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The Vanishing Half is a brilliant book。 It gives a unique perspective on four different walks of life that are bound together by blood。 It’s in their nature to find their own way and the results are an insightful introspection on identity and what defines us。 I wouldn’t be surprised if this book was taught in schools in the future。 The story was paced well and never dragged but the ended was unsatisfying。 I would give it 4 ½ stars。
Jean Nicholson
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I got fed up with this one。 Skimmed through it and read last 20 pages and decided I was glad I hadn't spent as much time reading it。Perhaps I'm over reading about black Americans as I've read a few recently。 I got fed up with this one。 Skimmed through it and read last 20 pages and decided I was glad I hadn't spent as much time reading it。Perhaps I'm over reading about black Americans as I've read a few recently。 。。。more
lauren celeste
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4。5 stars， i loved loved loved this book but the ending did leave me wanting a bit more
Cheryl
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I think this was supposed to be a sweeping multi-generational family drama。 It didn't have the impact on me that it seemingly was designed to have on readers。 This is a "what if" story， that supposes what would happen if certain， different choices were made （just sub in identical twins）。 This would not be at the top of my recommended reads list。 I think this was supposed to be a sweeping multi-generational family drama。 It didn't have the impact on me that it seemingly was designed to have on readers。 This is a "what if" story， that supposes what would happen if certain， different choices were made （just sub in identical twins）。 This would not be at the top of my recommended reads list。 。。。more
Robin
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Stopped about a quarter of the way through。 Not what I was looking for in a read。 🤷
Peggy
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What a great follow-up to reading Isabel Wilkerson's "Caste" for a fictional take on the way that people of color are perceived in the U。S。 This was thought provoking and yet also pleasurable to read。 It was an insight into how "passing" could become more important than family and sisterhood。 It was one of those I couldn't put it down books。。。 What a great follow-up to reading Isabel Wilkerson's "Caste" for a fictional take on the way that people of color are perceived in the U。S。 This was thought provoking and yet also pleasurable to read。 It was an insight into how "passing" could become more important than family and sisterhood。 It was one of those I couldn't put it down books。。。 。。。more
haleykeg
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really liked the characters and world building， was less impressed by the plot arc
Lauren
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Wow， this book has so much to think about and unpack。 It's definitely a book club book！ I loved it。 Wow， this book has so much to think about and unpack。 It's definitely a book club book！ I loved it。 。。。more
Patricia
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This book absorbed me。 Bennett's lyrical prose--enough to be engaging without the slog--smoothly connects each character's arc from one to the next。 There's simmering tension throughout that， even at peak plot points， never resolves or spills over。 I didn't get enough from each storyline and the ending sort of fizzles， but that could have been the point。 This book absorbed me。 Bennett's lyrical prose--enough to be engaging without the slog--smoothly connects each character's arc from one to the next。 There's simmering tension throughout that， even at peak plot points， never resolves or spills over。 I didn't get enough from each storyline and the ending sort of fizzles， but that could have been the point。 。。。more
Camila Lobianco
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Now I get the hype， this books talks about a lot more than racism。 All types of minorities are in this book （ok， not all of them， but a great amount of them）。 This is nice， the story is portrayed in a really responsible way and is really touching。 It's a nice beginning to another types of books， since I've been trapped in a lot of fantasy lately。 I recommend， really great！ Now I get the hype， this books talks about a lot more than racism。 All types of minorities are in this book （ok， not all of them， but a great amount of them）。 This is nice， the story is portrayed in a really responsible way and is really touching。 It's a nice beginning to another types of books， since I've been trapped in a lot of fantasy lately。 I recommend， really great！ 。。。more
Rosa
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I have read one third of the book and still waiting for something to happen。。
Melissa
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I thought the ideas and themes were profound but the storytelling was mediocre。
Gina
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4。5 - really well written characters。。。and the story is so damn good。 Just knowing how people create themselves and can disappear or change dramatically。。。not even sure how to explain it。 Very enjoyable。
Faye Arcand
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This was an interesting book。 Twin girls leave their home at 16。 Together they explore the world until one takes off and gets married。 Being black， but light skinned， she "passes" as white and lives her lie。 The story was very sad because these two girls， exposed to significant trauma at a very young age， never fit in anywhere。 The exploration of skin color and social expectation is fascinating as the attitudes， behavior， and racism have continued to leech into societal norms。 So sad。 I had a fe This was an interesting book。 Twin girls leave their home at 16。 Together they explore the world until one takes off and gets married。 Being black， but light skinned， she "passes" as white and lives her lie。 The story was very sad because these two girls， exposed to significant trauma at a very young age， never fit in anywhere。 The exploration of skin color and social expectation is fascinating as the attitudes， behavior， and racism have continued to leech into societal norms。 So sad。 I had a few issues with the choppy plot but in this particular instance story triumphed。 。。。more
Yasmina Walker
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In the 1950's， the town of Mallard， Louisiana valued light skin Blacks。 The lighter your skin， the more beautiful you were。 Desiree and Stella Vignes， twins were light skinned beauties who desperately wanted to leave their small town。 An opportunity to escape arises after the Founder's Day Dance in 1954。 They flee to New Orleans where their paths diverge。 Desiree ends up in an abusive marriage living in Washington D。C。 。 Stella passes herself off as white， and marries a white man。 No one knows s In the 1950's， the town of Mallard， Louisiana valued light skin Blacks。 The lighter your skin， the more beautiful you were。 Desiree and Stella Vignes， twins were light skinned beauties who desperately wanted to leave their small town。 An opportunity to escape arises after the Founder's Day Dance in 1954。 They flee to New Orleans where their paths diverge。 Desiree ends up in an abusive marriage living in Washington D。C。 。 Stella passes herself off as white， and marries a white man。 No one knows she is Black。 The story follows their lives and their daughter's lives。 Desiree returns to Mallard， and Stella tries to forget Mallard ever existed。 The story is original and intriguing， but Bennett jumps too much between time periods and characters。 This breaks the continuity of the story。 。。。more
Julia
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The beginning was quite weak for me; more of a love-story than I was prepared for （not that into the love story thing）。 The writing is well done， but the style （jumping protagonists， jumping timeline） seems a little overplayed， and wasn't super exciting to me once I figured that out， it seems a little formulaic almost。 The serendipity/coincidences of the stories （Early being tasked with finding his teenage sweetheart， the stories overlapping in California） seemed a little too deus ex machina， un The beginning was quite weak for me; more of a love-story than I was prepared for （not that into the love story thing）。 The writing is well done， but the style （jumping protagonists， jumping timeline） seems a little overplayed， and wasn't super exciting to me once I figured that out， it seems a little formulaic almost。 The serendipity/coincidences of the stories （Early being tasked with finding his teenage sweetheart， the stories overlapping in California） seemed a little too deus ex machina， unless I missed something else。 These things kind of break the illusion for me。That said， there was a lot there with Stella's story， her daughter Kennedy， and the relationship between the two cousins as they mature。 I thought a lot about internalized racism or wearing a mask （of racism）， or both at the same time， or those being the same thing。。。 Stella's character as an adult was maybe the most interesting， wish there was more internal understanding of her as a character。Books like this are important， can have a huge effect on people's understanding of the world and I think this book is a serious net positive in that sense。 These stories should be told， and I think the author is a talented voice， and that a book like this is the best way to communicate this message as broadly and as completely as possible。 。。。more
Sharon
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I listened to the audiobook。 Once I started listening I couldn’t stop。 This is one of the best books of this year， and the audiobook narrator is fantastic too。
Sonia
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idk。 i don’t know。 not an actively bad book but Definitely not worth the three month wait
Callie Hornbuckle
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Well written， and a thought-provoking treatment of several tough topics， including racial and gender identity。 It's also solid historical fiction - the setting ranges from the late sixties to the eighties。 Looking forward to our book club discussion。 Well written， and a thought-provoking treatment of several tough topics， including racial and gender identity。 It's also solid historical fiction - the setting ranges from the late sixties to the eighties。 Looking forward to our book club discussion。 。。。more
Katherine Li
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Ok read， disappointed that Stella mostly got away with her lies。
Neele
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I have mixed feelings about this book。 I didn't like it as much as I thought I would。 The premise of the book， exploring topics of race and passing and the ambiguousness of those are very promising。 However， the style of the book made that I wasn't able to understand the characters as well as I would have liked to。 Because the point of view switched so often and there were so many different characters 'in focus'， I lost a sense of connection to them。 That is not to say that I didn't think the ch I have mixed feelings about this book。 I didn't like it as much as I thought I would。 The premise of the book， exploring topics of race and passing and the ambiguousness of those are very promising。 However， the style of the book made that I wasn't able to understand the characters as well as I would have liked to。 Because the point of view switched so often and there were so many different characters 'in focus'， I lost a sense of connection to them。 That is not to say that I didn't think the characters were good。 However， I agree with some others that I think it would have been better to focus on the sisters and their stories， or at least on the topic of racial inequality。 I appreciate that the author wanted to include other forms of inequality， such as gender and sexuality， but I think that a character such as Reese and his struggles could have been developed much more in a separate novel。 I felt that writing one paragraph about the aids epidemic for example does not justify its impact and I did not see why it had to be included in the book at all。 So all in all， I appreciated the diversity in characters， but I think the storyline would have improved from less characters， less points of view， and less societal topics to explore。Also， the ending was disappointing， but that I can live with。 。。。more
Kandice
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This book was fantastic！ Diverse characters， riveting story lines， and perfect delivery。 One of my favorites of all time。
Tiffany
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I could not put this book down！ I was disappointed at the abrupt ending。 I wanted more for the characters but it was still a really good read。 I appreciated the character development and the stories taking places in different time periods。
Emily
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Looking forward to talking about this book with my bookclub！ Lots to talk about in terms of identity and deciding who you are。 The characters in the book all made big decisions to define themselves， but what made things more dramatic was how many of them tried to hide or forget the past in order to move forward。 But I didn't give it 5 stars because the plot had to rely on some really big coincidences in terms of characters meeting who needed to meet to keep things moving forward。 Looking forward to talking about this book with my bookclub！ Lots to talk about in terms of identity and deciding who you are。 The characters in the book all made big decisions to define themselves， but what made things more dramatic was how many of them tried to hide or forget the past in order to move forward。 But I didn't give it 5 stars because the plot had to rely on some really big coincidences in terms of characters meeting who needed to meet to keep things moving forward。 。。。more
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