The Vanishing Half: A GMA Book Club Pick (A Novel) Hardcover – June 2, 2020

"The Vanishing Half" was a very good, solidly constructed novel. Unfortunately, I apparently was quite remiss in my due diligence to fully understand the topics presented and discussed in this book. The bottom line is that the book couldn't hold my interest and was a slog through the swamp in waders. But, hey, that was my personal experience. You may love it because it is a solid novel.

This beautifully written, timely family drama earned <b>4.5 Stars</b> from me.<b>SUMMARY<b>I'm keeping this section short because I loved the slow reveal; the way author, Brit Bennett doled out little pieces of the story until I was fully immersed in the lives of the Vignes women.In 1950-something, in the middle of the night without even a good bye to their mother, twins Desiree and Stella Vignes left Mallard, their small Louisiana town, for a bigger life in New Orleans. Mallard was an unusual town, it was founded by a light skinned African-American man and everyone who settled there after was light skinned. Desiree and Stella were no exception to this rule, in fact, they were so fair skinned that they could pass for white. And, much to the dismay of her family, one of them did. The story opens as one of the twins returns to Mallard after a 14 year absence. The plot follows two generations of the Vignes woman and their vastly different life experiences.<b>WHAT I LOVED</b>I <b>LOVED<b> Brit Bennett's previous novel, <i>The Mother's</i> and her second novel does not disappoint! The book is filled with emotion and tackles some very heated topics. Although much of the book takes place in the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's, many of the major themes are extremely relevant today; prejudice, privilege and opportunity. Skin color is one of the biggest factors in two of the main characters lives. The book is relevant today and will be relevant for generations to come.Each of the characters is unique and struggles with their own issues. I am not sure I've been that invested in so many different characters in a single story. Creating vastly different, well developed characters takes serious writing skills, kudos to Brit Bennett. I LOVE the women in this story!!! They are at once strong and vulnerable. They each have some moments of greatness and some moments of weakness. Even the one who I found least sympathetic had redeeming qualities.Although there are so many emotionally charged, timely themes in the book, it always circled back to being about family. What makes a family, how an individuals picture of "family" can evolve over the years and loyalty to family versus loyalty to oneself.<b>WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE</b>Although I loved most of the book, there are a few minor things I did not love. Toward the beginning, I had a little trouble following who each of the characters were and how each one was connected to the story. About a third of the way in, I wondered where the story was headed. The plot seemed to be rambling and not going anywhere. Luckily, as I read on, I realized each characters story had a point and it leading to a story I definitely wanted to read.

In this multigenerational fable-like tale, racism and colorism intersect with the very core of identity. Identical twin sisters live in the (fictional) town of Mallard, Louisiana, a rural place that graces no map. Everyone is light in their Blackness—so light that a dark Black person will receive the full hostile treatment. Desiree and Stella are inseparable, but have distinctly different natures. Desiree is adventurous and bold; Stella is shy and intellectual.The twins are traumatized when they witness their father dragged from their porch and lynched by a group of white men. Their perspective of the world is shattered, and the last of their naivete is scrubbed away. In 1968, the civil rights movement barely touches the periphery of Mallard, and Stella and Desiree, only sixteen, decide to run away to New Orleans. It was Desiree’s adventurous idea, but shy Stella is game, and they live there on a wing and a prayer.Some months later, Stella passes for white to get a decent job. Shockingly, however, she stealthily leaves Desiree for the wider world as a White woman, a secret life that paradoxically frees Stella while keeping her imprisoned in her lie. Secrets can both build and destroy.Bennett carries us back and forth from the 1940s to the latter 1990s, centering on the sisters but branching out to the next generation, and the one before. The novel also examines feminism; a misgendered young man born a woman; the class system; and dissembling. Stella pretends until her fake identity becomes real.This could have been a heavy-handed story by a less imaginative author. But Bennett’s narrative is authentic and juicy, and not overplayed. Tragic as a premise, like the movie, Imitation of Life (yes, there were progressive filmmakers in 1934 and 1959), grief and loss are channeled with stinging delicacy. Stella lives a lie, even to her husband and daughter. Cruel irony asserts when the normally subdued Stella is outspoken at a neighborhood meeting, stating that they shouldn’t let “Negroes” move in. Fear of exposure makes her shameless.Desiree returns to Mallard with her dark Black daughter, Jude, escaping an abusive marriage. Jude contends with spiteful colorism at school and around town and swiftly goes her own way and pursues a future. Desiree has a steady boyfriend there, another dark Black man who travels a lot for his work. The author’s character-driven plot kept me fully engaged in the story and voice—a limited omniscience that tethers the reader to each character. The author extends the metaphor and paradox fluidly; Stella’s daughter doesn’t feel authentic unless she is acting on stage.A lazy author may depend on epiphanies to tell the tale, but Bennett doesn’t rely on derivative Hollywood scenes. OK, there’s ONE meetup that reeked of Oprah moments, but it isn’t the cardinal climax, anyway. In fact, there are several resolutions that aren’t resolute; instead, there are ongoing disclosures that refuse to wrap things up in just a scene or two. It is contoured, and time touches the characters with tolerance and regard. The psychological effects of each sister’s life are genuine and stirring.A few incidental scenes read as if an editor suggested expediency, a bridge or transition, and the author (or editor) exerted canned dialogue, but it was brief and insignificant, surpassed by the moving, poignant story. Later to become an HBO limited miniseries.4.5 rounded up

Es una bella editorial para tener de colección. La narrativa espectacular. Muy pocos autores están dispuestos abarcar el tema del racismo internalizado dentro de comunidades afroamericanas, y no hay mejor escritora como B B para hacerlo de una manera tan elegante.

El libro espectatular. The Vanishing Half es una novela escrita por Brit Bennett que explora temas de identidad, raza, familia y secretos. La historia sigue a dos hermanas gemelas afroamericanas que eligen caminos de vida radicalmente diferentes. Una hermana pasa como blanca, mientras que la otra vive como una mujer negra. A lo largo de las décadas, las vidas entrelazadas de las hermanas y sus respectivas familias revelan las complejidades del racismo, la identidad y la búsqueda de pertenencia en la sociedad estadounidense. La novela ha recibido elogios por su narrativa poderosa y sus temas conmovedores. Fue nominada para el Premio de Mujeres en 2021.

This is a review on the book condition rather than the content - which I’m yet to read. Not convinced I received a new copy

Muito bem escrito, a autora relata sobre a vida de duas meninas gêmeas, morenas claras de origem negra, que se separam e vivem situações opostas no que se refere a sua condição racial.Boas reflexões sobre o tema desde dentro da questão. Gostei e recomendo

So ein tolles Buch. Dieses Buch habe ich in nur drei Tagen fertiggelesen. Tolle Story und richtig interessant. Es gibt wenige Bücher bei denen ich so konzentriert und gespannt bis zum Schluss gelesen habe.