Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Vanishing Half

I choose to read this story for black history month, and this story takes you on an emotional journey as guides you through intergenerational African American search for identity and how severing one connection to their past and identity can lead to them feeling lost and alone.

It demonstrates how whiteness is purely a creation of perspective. Yet it proves how deadly and cruel that perspective is.

Stella makes a choice and she has to live with the consequences of that choose everyday.

While climax of the story was a quieter storm than I anticipated it didn't make it any less impact full or the grief less palpable.

The story does not end as neatly or with the amount of closure most readers like myself were hoping for. However that is more reflective of real life, our complicated relationship often don't end with the right amount of closure we need and we end of living with that grief.

This story is one of how each women lives with her grief and how that impacts their relationships with other.

This book is definitely a new favorite.

It felt like it took quite a while for the story to get started, but once it did it was outstanding and gripping!

Overall an impressive and impact read for Black History Month.

Content Warnings

erinvasut's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

gottheblues's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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jewlzruwe's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Content Warnings

janenilsson24's review against another edition

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emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

willowbiblio's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"He offered to drive her, not out of kindness, but because Desiree loved Stella and that was how love worked, wasn't it? A transference, leaping onto you if you inched close enough."
-------------------
This was such a beautiful book. The first thing I noticed, and a major running theme throughout, was how the hand on the back of the neck signaled closeness, tenderness, and home. It was so poignant when Desiree saw Stella trying to soothe with her own hand on her won neck. I think this more than any other part of the novel signaled how lonely and isolated Stella truly was.

In some ways this book felt like a response to Toni Morrison's "Paradise" - with the small insular town and focus on female identity. Bennett's ability to create such strong imagery with her emotional descriptions was astounding.

The relationship between Early and Desiree perfectly captured the yearning and earnestness of many first loves that never truly goes away. Jude's narrative, and her experience of boys who only wanted to kiss her in secret, actually made me cry. I thought also that Adele's dementia/Alzheimer's being progressed enough that when Stella returned it was unremarkable for her was a really inspired move from Bennett.

To have the twins lead such opposite lives, both in color and affluence, and to have Desiree be held up as the twin who'd achieved happiness, was really beautiful.

And that our internal lives can never be fully visible to anyone, no matter how close we may believe ourselves to be.

Content Warnings

jane_cs's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

norcalchris's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

There was so much to unpack in this story. It was about a lot more than the blurb advertises.

Ultimately, I was left wanting deeper excavation of many of the topics presented and characters. It felt strangely devoid of emotion.

Not sure it would come to mind to recommend to others.

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