The Vanishing Half
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- Create Date：2021-04-26 11:57:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Brit Bennett
- ISBN：0349701466
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Summary
From the New York Times-bestselling author of The Mothers， a stunning new novel about twin sisters， inseparable as children， who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds， one black and one white。
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？
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。
As with her New York Times-bestselling debut The Mothers， Brit Bennett offers an engrossing page-turner about family and relationships that is immersive and provocative， compassionate and wise。
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？
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。
As with her New York Times-bestselling debut The Mothers， Brit Bennett offers an engrossing page-turner about family and relationships that is immersive and provocative， compassionate and wise。
Reviews
Melissa
，
Couldn’t put this book down！ Sailed through it。 While it was a quick read， it was a complex story with a lot of layers that left me thinking about it all day after I finished。 Brit Bennett is an exceptional writer。
Dezaray
，
I enjoyed this book overall。 I hadn't read many novels that tackle race， identity， and family drama but I loved traveling through time with these ladies and their experiences。 Well developed characters and raw emotion。 I enjoyed this book overall。 I hadn't read many novels that tackle race， identity， and family drama but I loved traveling through time with these ladies and their experiences。 Well developed characters and raw emotion。 。。。more
Charlotte
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Sped through this multi-generational book。 Preferred Desiree's honest story more than Stella's lie filled story。 I love how the title encompasses so many vanishing halves -- Desiree's vanishing half， her twin。 Stella's vanishing half， her racial identity and her twin。 Reese's vanishing half， his gender。 Jude's vanishing half， her whiteness and Kennedy's vanishing half， her black identity。 Great writing。 Riveting and thought provoking story。 I will be thinking about it for days， I am sure。 Sped through this multi-generational book。 Preferred Desiree's honest story more than Stella's lie filled story。 I love how the title encompasses so many vanishing halves -- Desiree's vanishing half， her twin。 Stella's vanishing half， her racial identity and her twin。 Reese's vanishing half， his gender。 Jude's vanishing half， her whiteness and Kennedy's vanishing half， her black identity。 Great writing。 Riveting and thought provoking story。 I will be thinking about it for days， I am sure。 。。。more
Dorinda
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Like The Mothers， the other novel by Bennett that I read and also liked， the "blurbs" on the book set low expectations and the story turns out more compelling and thought-provoking。 Stayed up too late to finish it the same day I started reading it。 Like The Mothers， the other novel by Bennett that I read and also liked， the "blurbs" on the book set low expectations and the story turns out more compelling and thought-provoking。 Stayed up too late to finish it the same day I started reading it。 。。。more
Amy
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Loved the main story， so unique and engrossing。 The one daughter's sublot just seemed like an afterthought， not sure why it was there。。。。 Loved the main story， so unique and engrossing。 The one daughter's sublot just seemed like an afterthought， not sure why it was there。。。。 。。。more
Alexis
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Although I didn’t love the ending， I really did love the story and the different characters。
Nicole
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This book had a lot to say about love and family and identity and I kept wanting to know what it’d say next。 I cared so much about Desiree and later Jude and was so glad we didn’t move too much farther past them into other stories or generations。 It also had a lot of things to say about death and loss and grief and love that I felt like we barely scratched the surface on and that makes me so excited to read whatever comes next from Brit Bennett。
Shannon
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Very predictable with an ending leaving you hanging and seemingly unfinished。 In fact， the last 1/4 of the book seemed rushed as if the author felt they were running out of time。
Jacob Livingston
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Beautiful， poignant， and effortless writing。 I loved every second of reading it， just wish I would have read it faster to feel the impact of the story more than I did。 Not usually my preferred genre but I’m so so happy I read it。
Sheila Clendenning
，
Just okay。 Promising， but in the end。。。 forgettable。
Addie373
，
Elementary！
Julie Davids
，
A
Monika
，
Every race， community carries individual and collective trauma。 Sooner or later this trauma has to be addressed。 Or our lives are not complete。 #NoEscape#TarumaIsReal
PennyK
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I liked the story until the very end。
LaBae
，
Strong 3 stars。 Enjoyed 'Mothers' more than this one。 The storyline meandered in a most unnecessarily sinuous way。 The plot was predictable。 Kudos to the author for exposure of 'passing'。 I'm sure some were unaware of this concept。 I certainly expected more。 Strong 3 stars。 Enjoyed 'Mothers' more than this one。 The storyline meandered in a most unnecessarily sinuous way。 The plot was predictable。 Kudos to the author for exposure of 'passing'。 I'm sure some were unaware of this concept。 I certainly expected more。 。。。more
Małgorzata
，
Długo zastanawiałam się nad tym co konkretnie mam napisać o tej książce i czy - mówiąc szczerze， że wielkiego wrażenia na mnie nie wywarła - nie wykażę się ignorancją。 Głównym tematem „Mojej znikającej połowy” jest bowiem rasizm。 Być może powieść ta miałaby dla mnie większą wartość gdybym sama zmagała się z tym problemem？ Być może。 Ale jestem Gosią， żyję sobie we Wrocławiu i z dyskryminacją ze względu na mój kolor skóry nigdy nie musiałam się mierzyć。 Bierzcie to pod uwagę podczas czytania mojej Długo zastanawiałam się nad tym co konkretnie mam napisać o tej książce i czy - mówiąc szczerze， że wielkiego wrażenia na mnie nie wywarła - nie wykażę się ignorancją。 Głównym tematem „Mojej znikającej połowy” jest bowiem rasizm。 Być może powieść ta miałaby dla mnie większą wartość gdybym sama zmagała się z tym problemem？ Być może。 Ale jestem Gosią， żyję sobie we Wrocławiu i z dyskryminacją ze względu na mój kolor skóry nigdy nie musiałam się mierzyć。 Bierzcie to pod uwagę podczas czytania mojej średnio przychylnej opinii o tej książce。 „Moja znikająca połowa” wołała mnie odkąd przyszła do naszej księgarni。 Okładka szalenie barwna， skojarzyła mi się z nieco innymi， niż rasizm， tematami。 Stwierdziłam， że dam jej szansę， bo potrzebowałam wciągającej powieści， a ta zgarniała wyjątkowo obiecujące recenzję。 I tu zaczęły się schody。 Główny wątek opowieści to relacja pomiędzy siostrami bliźniaczkami。 Tytuł zdradza nam， że losy bohaterek się rozdzielą – aczkolwiek tylko pozornie。 Bo choć próbujemy często uciec od przeszłości， ona znajduje drogę by nas dogonić。 O samej fabule więcej mówić nie będę， powiem Wam natomiast czego mi zabrało。 Książka ma ciekawą， acz przewidywalną fabułę。 Niektóre wątki （np。 idea miasteczka Mallard） są ciekawe， inne zdecydowanie mniej。 Tempo powieści jest wolne， a emocjonalny ładunek praktycznie zerowy。 Nie wiem czy to problem tłumaczenia， ale powieść wydała mi się płaska i bez wyrazu， absolutnie nie zależało mi na żadnej z bohaterek。 Mimo， że wytrwałam do końca， już teraz， niespełna miesiąc po jej przeczytaniu， kompletnie nie pamiętam zakończenia。 O ile temat ważny， a główny pomysł na fabułę ciekawy， o tyle sposób narracji bardzo nieangażujący i dla mnie rozczarowujący。 Czekam natomiast na ekranizację tej powieści。 Uważam， że w tym aspekcie ma naprawdę wielki potencjał， ale w wersji papierowej – raczej nie polecam。 😢 。。。more
Jackie Gulasy
，
A delightful novel to escape into but also make you think。 The linking of struggles from different time periods was beautiful。 Highly recommend this read。
Jen Stone
，
This is a very cerebral story - about where you are from and what makes you 'who you are。' Themes of race and gender seem forced in here。 It's an interesting tale - gives insight into the Black experience and what it means to be Black。 It's OK - wouldn't necessarily recommend。 This is a very cerebral story - about where you are from and what makes you 'who you are。' Themes of race and gender seem forced in here。 It's an interesting tale - gives insight into the Black experience and what it means to be Black。 It's OK - wouldn't necessarily recommend。 。。。more
Anne Kimsey
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Bennett's dreamy narrative prose goes down easy as porch sweet tea or poolside Chardonnay just until it cracks open to reveal a new layer of unfolding tragedy。 Bennett's dreamy narrative prose goes down easy as porch sweet tea or poolside Chardonnay just until it cracks open to reveal a new layer of unfolding tragedy。 。。。more
Beth Robinson-Kinney
，
I enjoyed every minute of this book。 The writing slows you down （in a good way） and forces you to pay attention to detail。 There are lots of interesting parallels and contrasts between characters， but none of it is heavy-handed or overdone。 The author effortly explores race， gender， class， youth， and age。 The characters are compelling and complex， and the novel works in every possible way。 It's a lovingly-written meditation on identity， in every form。 I enjoyed every minute of this book。 The writing slows you down （in a good way） and forces you to pay attention to detail。 There are lots of interesting parallels and contrasts between characters， but none of it is heavy-handed or overdone。 The author effortly explores race， gender， class， youth， and age。 The characters are compelling and complex， and the novel works in every possible way。 It's a lovingly-written meditation on identity， in every form。 。。。more
Maddy
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Three stars because I did not love the ending。 I wanted more， more of a twist I guess。 Kind of fell flat for me but I loved it up until the last couple chapters。 Quick read and would be 4 stars if the ending was more intriguing
Fay Stade
，
Twins， inseparable as children， choose to live in two very different worlds: one black and one white。Even within the black community the color of your skin mattered; the lighter the better。
Douglas Sainsbury
，
I read THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett because a new book club established by the University of Illinois selected it as its first read。 The book deals with the concept of "Passing" where one of two twin girls， Stella， moves from the small Louisiana town of Mallard， decides to pretend she is white， and settles into a comfortable life in Brentwood， CA with her wealthy husband。 Her sister， Desiree， travels a different path when she runs to New Orleans and experiences adventures， giving birth to I read THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett because a new book club established by the University of Illinois selected it as its first read。 The book deals with the concept of "Passing" where one of two twin girls， Stella， moves from the small Louisiana town of Mallard， decides to pretend she is white， and settles into a comfortable life in Brentwood， CA with her wealthy husband。 Her sister， Desiree， travels a different path when she runs to New Orleans and experiences adventures， giving birth to a dark child， Jude， and ultimately ends up back living with her mother in Mallard。 Stella returns to Mallard to reunite， temporarily， with Desiree and asks her not to betray her secret （passing herself off as white）。 Jude has researched her heritage and figures out that Stella and her mother are sisters and tries to convince Stella's daughter， Kennedy， that she is part black， too。 Kennedy is spoiled and doesn't want to accept Jude's assertion。 I think several characters have promise， but aren't developed to the extent I expected。 Bennett does a good job of building tension as Stella lives every minute hoping her secret will not get out。 Some of the prose is powerful。 A good read about race and the manner in which light-skinned black people deal with their unique DNA in society。 。。。more
Cate
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“But maybe in those seven minutes they'd first been apart， they'd each lived a lifetime， setting out their separate paths。 Each discovering who she might be。” “But maybe in those seven minutes they'd first been apart， they'd each lived a lifetime， setting out their separate paths。 Each discovering who she might be。” 。。。more
Celia
，
This is really 4 1/2 stars。 What a well-written， amazing storyline。 I could not put this down。 The characters are intelligently drawn， and it is such a pleasure to read good literature。 The story of twin sisters who go their separate ways， and the pain and pathos that accompanied Stella， who wanted to live her life "passing"， no matter the consequences。 It is a story of families， of mothers and daughters， and being true to yourself。 I don't want to give any of the plot away， as this is one of th This is really 4 1/2 stars。 What a well-written， amazing storyline。 I could not put this down。 The characters are intelligently drawn， and it is such a pleasure to read good literature。 The story of twin sisters who go their separate ways， and the pain and pathos that accompanied Stella， who wanted to live her life "passing"， no matter the consequences。 It is a story of families， of mothers and daughters， and being true to yourself。 I don't want to give any of the plot away， as this is one of those books that must be read and savored。 。。。more
Alia S
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Improbable events happened all the time， she tried to explain to her students， because improbability is an illusion based our preconceptions。 Often it has nothing to do with statistical truth。 After all， it's wildly improbable that any one person is alive。Maybe it should have been obvious from the title or all the talk about it， but I actually had no idea what Vanishing Half was about when I started reading it and was pleasantly surprised to find out—misadventures of the racially ambiguous being Improbable events happened all the time， she tried to explain to her students， because improbability is an illusion based our preconceptions。 Often it has nothing to do with statistical truth。 After all， it's wildly improbable that any one person is alive。Maybe it should have been obvious from the title or all the talk about it， but I actually had no idea what Vanishing Half was about when I started reading it and was pleasantly surprised to find out—misadventures of the racially ambiguous being a genre of interest to me。 I thought often， of course， of my own sister: of an INS office back in the day， fluorescents and linoleum， of the officer who looked from her to me， to my mother， to my father， to our paperwork， who checked one race box on hers and another on mine。 Anyway， if Vanishing Half has a few flat sentences here and there and gets a little too tragic mulatto for my personal taste， I didn’t mind。 It’s a good story and an engaging read and I will happily watch the HBO series if/when it comes out。 I hope Early Jones is cast as ffffine as he sounds in writing。 Ahem。 In the meantime I needed Google's help to picture the white-passing black characters。 Though towns a bit like Mallard did and do exist， an individual face was somehow difficult to imagine， which I suppose makes sense: Bennett points out that if you have encountered someone truly committed to passing， by definition you wouldn’t know it。 I ended up on this very interesting essay， which describes， among other things， the leveraging of light-skinned children in Civil War propaganda。 In 1864—in response to the New York draft riots and general white resistance to fighting in the Civil War—the Union’s Department of the Gulf， along with the American Missionary Association and the National Freedman’s Relief Association， presented a national campaign using white-presenting former slave children to solidify support for the war effort。 In the January 30， 1864， issue of Harper’s Weekly， readers were presented with the images of seemingly white children， dressed elegantly in the manner of wealthy family portraits。 In some of the photos， the white-looking children were posed with brown-skinned ones， the cherubs serving as an empathy conduit for the darker children as well。 The captions for the photos announce， repeatedly， “Slave children。” Impossible to say how it breaks down now—how many of the mixed or ambiguous vanish， for safety or convenience or profit， and how many instead serve as “empathy conduits，” with or without their own consent。 To the extent that any of us has a choice， it remains， of course， a fraught but enormous privilege。 。。。more
Margery Gerard
，
Almost did not read this as there are some bits that are "trite"。 However， the issues brought up are real and the problems great。 Almost did not read this as there are some bits that are "trite"。 However， the issues brought up are real and the problems great。 。。。more
mitareads
，
it was a emotional rollercoaster and the growth between the families and twins was so good
Jessica Paa
，
I thought the characters were a bit flat and the story didn’t really go anywhere。 I enjoyed reading and exploring the trans and colorism topics， but in the end I just wasn’t impressed with any of the character arcs。
Margarita Ibbott
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Another great book club choice。 This story of hidden identity was well written and easy to read。 The story of light skin black twins grom Louisiana was riveting。 Interesting to see how one twin returns to her small Louisiana town to raise her "blue-black" toned daughter and the other twin raised her white daughter。 How one twin reinvents herself as a white woman and hides her black roots。 Constantly living in frear that she will be found out。The experience that both twins live was very informati Another great book club choice。 This story of hidden identity was well written and easy to read。 The story of light skin black twins grom Louisiana was riveting。 Interesting to see how one twin returns to her small Louisiana town to raise her "blue-black" toned daughter and the other twin raised her white daughter。 How one twin reinvents herself as a white woman and hides her black roots。 Constantly living in frear that she will be found out。The experience that both twins live was very informative。 Their lives then the lives of their daughters and how they eventually intersect。 Great read。 I would highly recommend this book。 。。。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