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jcstokes95's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
The Vanishing Half’s characters are deep and make decisions in such a believable and real way; even when they make heartbreaking choices that hurt them, everything makes painful sense. We follow a few generations of women, with twins Desiree and Stella Vignes at the center.
After escaping a Southern, Black town that determines worth based on lightness and class, the twins end up in the world on their own, forced to make their own decisions for survival. Stella leaves behind her roots, creating an elaborate lie of a life to pass into Whiteness and privilege. But the price is an existence made up of fear and shame. Desiree, meanwhile, makes her own way into trouble before returning back her hometown for refuge with a dark-skinned daughter, Jude. The choices each twin makes ripple out from there.
This book is in conversation with other works about passing over, including, obviously Passing. But I’m assuming the choice to make Desiree’s Baby dark was and intentional to Chopin (we see you Brit, you literary genius). Stella is by far the most interesting character because she has made the most interesting choice. She lives every day as an actress and is willing to turn away from what, to the reader, feel like a moral imperative to tell the truth. But in the end, you sympathize with her while also feeling conflicted at every single thing she does in the novel. Bennet writes with such feeling and beauty. You’ll be mapping out your thoughts on this one long after you finish. As the child of a mixed-race person, this story was of particular interest to me, because like many about passing, it is asking some questions about how we define race and shape identity from it. I know I’ll be snooping through reviews to see how others took its themes.
I must say, the people in my book club were a little head scratching about the ending. I think Bennet ties up her ends a little bit quickly. After a pressure cooker of a book, the tension does not seem to break. Which is sometimes a way of making a point, but it does feel a bit like it falls down a bit then. Would have liked more time to sit with the consequences of their choices. In any case, this book has fully earned the modern classic status it seems to be climbing toward and I would recommend it to anyone, especially to read with a friend or group.
Moderate: Racial slurs, Hate crime, Sexual harassment, and Murder
annieogg's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Death of parent and Dementia
Moderate: Sexual assault, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
Minor: Dysphoria
Many triggering topics are discussed, but it's in a very thoughtful, constructive way. There is no sensationalism.val_theburrowofstories's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Dementia
yliana's review against another edition
- 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
characters I liked: jude, reese, desiree, early, barry
characters i didn't like: kennedy, blake (had to look his name up cuz i couldn't remember lmfao)
and i honestly am on the fence about Stella
i was really surprised when we were introduced to Reese. I've heard a lot about this book since it came out but no one ever really talks about him. From a cis pov, i thought his character was treated fairly well. we were thankfully not subjected to any hate he might've received in his life for being trans. i was happy that we got to see his happiness with jude.
fuck stella's husband, he's a piece of shit. and honestly fuck kennedy too. she gave me bad vibes throughout every scene she's in. i couldn't stand when it was said that she would call her boyfriend the n word because he asked her to like what the actual fuck is that?! i also totally agreed with Stella when she was thinking about how bullshit it was that kennedy was given absolutely everything she could've ever needed and instead of taking advantage of her privileges and advantages, she just threw them away. it's one thing to be passionate about the arts and want to pursue acting and another to end up on ACADEMIC PROBATION when you have every possibility to just fucking make it through high school. especially when jude had to work her absolute ass off to reach medical school and started way, way below kennedy. I just really couldn't stand her and she never even ends up doing anything that she seems to find particularly fulfilling, we just see her be a selfish brat and then just continue being fake for the rest of her life. i'm 100% on the kennedy hate train tbh.
i did really like jude though. I thought it was really sweet and heartbreaking at the same time how desperate she was to find Stella, for both herself and desiree. her and reese are so good for each other and i love how supportive they are towards each other too.
stella...idk. i feel so bad for her because of the sexual harassment and abuse she dealt with when she was working for the Duponts. half of me understands her motives for choosing to live as a white woman but i really just can't get behind her hatred for Black people after she makes that decision. it just feels so icky to me that she was okay with leaving her family and ESPECIALLY desiree, who she very clearly had such a strong love for (i mean, they're twins). and i cannot for the life of me understand WHY she would marry her husband when she literally said she feels scared around him sometimes because he looks like the assholes who lynched her dad. like?!?! it was just really sad to see the way she internalized the racism that she witnessed in mallard so i have a hard time disliking her but i can't say that i like her very much either.
this book was just so so heavy. it was definitely good and i think it was well written but yeah just pretty sad. and honestly the trigger warnings list is gonna be so long.
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Racism, Physical abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, and Dementia
Minor: Sexual content, Deadnaming, and Violence
adelal's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
Moderate: Death of parent, Dementia, Classism, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Sexual harassment and Slavery
taylynnmazz's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Racial slurs, Hate crime, and Racism
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Sexual harassment and Domestic abuse
readingphoebe's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Sexual harassment
corriejn's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Gun violence, Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, and Sexual assault
Minor: Medical content
gabuwu's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Dementia, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use
tm400's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
detailing the story of two black twin sisters, the two run away from home (in rural louisiana) in the 1950s and lead separate lives into adulthood. one of the twins stays in their black hometown of mallard while the other starts passing as a white woman living a life of luxury in los angeles. colorism within the black community is one of the main themes of the book, and the negative repercussions of it are brought up throughout the novel in both the twins' lives and their daughters' lives as well.
this was a beautiful story about sisterhood and identity, how being black is an intrinsic part of the self, regardless of how you choose to present yourself. the story is definitely character driven, which is a nice change of pace from the books i've been reading recently. speaking of pace, i was not the biggest fan of the way the story was told; there was a lot of jumping back & forth in time from part to part, but also from chapter to chapter and sometimes within the chapter itself. it was slightly confusing to have the setting/time change so frequently, but i thoroughly enjoyed this book !! 4.5/5 stars
(my copy also had 389 pages yay)
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Dementia and Sexual harassment