Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Passing by Nella Larsen

257 reviews

whataliciaisreading's review

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Irene Redfield is a Black woman living an affluent, comfortable life with her husband and children in the thriving neighborhood of Harlem in the 1920s. When she reconnects with her childhood friend Clare Kendry, who is similarly light-skinned, Irene discovers that Clare has been passing for a white woman after severing ties to her past — even hiding the truth from her racist husband.

The contrast, parallels, and interplay between these two women is what makes Passing so wonderfully constructed. Every choice is finely calculated. Their interactions are polite, but Larsen has a way of making the simplest observation feel like a prelude to some great catastrophe. 

From the novel’s opening, race is slippery and unstable. Though Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel is understood to be a tragedy, it also exposes race to be something of a farce. But the moments of humour don't release the novella’s tension; rather, they only increase it. It is race’s instability that threatens the women at the centre of this novel.

Larsen enters into fiction the psychological dilemma of Du Bois’ double consciousness, 'two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body’. (Du Bois) Clare, in her frustration towards Irene, finds herself ‘caught between two allegiances, different, yet the same. Herself. Her race. Race! The thing that bound and suffocated her.’ 

Nella Larsen’s Passing is an incredibly underrated novel, and belongs on everyone’s reading lists. 
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justcallmeemily's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • 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

I have really mixed feelings about this book. And I can't really explain why. 😕
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ankbert's review against another edition

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

3.0

I didn't get very engaged in the story in the story but I still found it interesting and reflective.
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booksillremember's review

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challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Masterful, loved the complex layering of emotions, themes and social identities. 
It's a gripping story with sapphic undertones, an unreliable narrator and an ambiguous ending. Would love to read the novel from Clare's point of view. 

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hjb_128's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad fast-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

4.0

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wytnie's review against another edition

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4.5

I liked the book i was mainly interested in it because I'm black and wanted to see how this subject would be addressed in the past. I think the writing was interesting given how old it is but not bad. Thinking about reading "quicksand" that's also by Nella Larsen. Lastly, idk if its just me but sometimes it kind of felt like Clare and Irene liked each other because at times it gave "ex-girlfriends who still love each other" instead of old kinda sorta friends.
I will say, personally i am so happy that who died in the end did, i feel like it was the only way for things to get better for literally any of the other characters, I also think its kind of what she wanted in her own way.
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gracej66's review

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I enjoyed how detailed the descriptions of Clare Kendry were. Larsen really went into a lot of detail showing her odd mannerisms, expressions, etc. She also spent a lot of time describing the protagonist Irene Redfield’s conflicted thoughts and struggles. The plot, while relatively simple and short, was engaging and kept me turning pages. The immediate tension created by Clare’s husband not knowing of her Black ancestry got me hooked from the beginning. It was a pleasure to read Larsen’s indirect style of storytelling. She didn’t spell everything out on the page. Rather, she took her time hinting at what was going on and gradually clarified what had happened, such as in the last scene of the book or when Irene has a tragic realization about those around her. This book was intriguing, exciting, and artfully constructed. I hope to read another book by Larsen!
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threeundertwopnw's review against another edition

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

4.0

I was not prepared for the ending. Overall a fascinating slice of history. 
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mariebrunelm's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-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
This thought-provoking little classic holds a punch. Our two protagonists are Black women who grew up together before growing apart, reunited in 1927 Chicago, more than ten years later and catching up. Both are light-skin Black, but while Irene married a Black man and lives within the Black community, Clare passes as white, married a white man and lives in the white community.
As the title suggests, this novel explores the concept of passing through the experiences of these two women. It is a fascinating insight into life in the 1920s for the Black community, and an excellent character study as well. Nella Larsen confronts those characters in a series of encounters, making the plot rather minimal, so I won’t say more about it. The prose is easy to read and helps make this a book to put in every hand.
In 2020, Brit Bennett recently released a novel that was a contemporary companion to Passing, entitled The Vanishing Half. I haven’t read it but have heard good things about it.
PS: there is no word in French that comes close to a translation for the concept of “passing”. The translation has had two different titles, “Passer la ligne” (“crossing the line”) and “Clair-obscur” (“chiaroscuro”).
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wilde_read's review against another edition

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

5.0

A poignant little novella. I plan to re-read it with fewer interruptions and enjoy the writing even more!
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