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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
reflective
medium-paced
I like the history behind the story and the subject of passing itself, but other than that, I didn't find the book too particularly interesting.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Larson effortlessly constructs the psychological state of her protagonist as the vehicle for her biting exploration into race relations and the role of women in 20s America. She perfectly captures her time for the benefit of the modern reader, and communicates so vividly an experience unfamiliar to many of us. An enlightening and provoking little book.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really liked this book! I thought that the low reviews would mean this wasn’t a good book but I think seeing it from multiple angles really added to it for me. While I picked this book up because I am fascinated with the concept of passing, I stayed for the weird and interesting almost obsession that Irene had with Clare to the end. I enjoyed how Irene, in her slow spiral, convinced herself that Clare and her husband were involved in a crazy love affair. There was something “other” to her fascination with Clare that annoyance doesn’t quite hit on. The summary of the Penguin Edition I read called that “other” homoeroticism. I’m not sure I would go that far, but an argument could be made.
Either way, I thought Irene was a great main character. Before I even picked up the book I was rearing up to support her simply because she is the one who did not betray her race like Clare did. (One’s identity, especially as a black woman, is not to be discarded. The fight for self-love is already an uphill battle.) I was in agreement with her anger at Clare for deciding to pass and the audacity Clare had to butt back into Irene’s life like someone without considering that she was not wanted or welcomed. As the book went on, though, I liked Clare too. At the end of the day, she is an orphan whose surroundings motivated her to survive how she thought she should. Passing seemed like her only option to her at the time, and I’m not so high and mighty that I would sit here and pretend that death or whatever monstrous thing that could befall her is preferable to passing. And she was never so egotistic that she could not admit she regretted passing. Clare was just annoying/relentless enough to always feel a little put off by, but just sympathetic enough to tolerate. Irene probably towed the same line.
I wish there was a little bit more said about passing in and of itself. I do love the way it was presented here as a narrative, and the different ways these women went about it (some with husbands who knew the true race of their wives and some with husbands who were ignorant). I think what I actually want is simply for the book to be longer. More of Irene’s family life and the marital struggles, more of life entirely from Clare’s perspective, living with man who hates black people as a black woman, and her struggle with being a mother (I would’ve loved to hear more about this, of the maybe two underlines in my book, one is Clare’s comment about motherhood being the worst job). More into Clare and Irene’s passing friend. Just more into this whole concept. As I said, I picked it up because the idea of passing is so interesting, but I feel like I got just a lick of it. What was given to us though was great. I guess it’s a good thing when you’re left wanting more.
I really enjoyed the ending as well. The ambiguity of it all is exactly the kind that I can get behind. I choose to believe she commit suicide, personally; secondly, I choose to believe Irene pushed her. I do believe that Clare’s husband would kill her, but we really got a nice, strong build up into Irene’s slow mental degradation as Clare became a fixture in her life, and I honestly think it more likely she would have impulsively pushed her when she had the chance. She was thinking thoughts along those lines anyway, before the opportunity even presented itself.
Overall, awesome book. I have to look into more narratives re: passing.
Either way, I thought Irene was a great main character. Before I even picked up the book I was rearing up to support her simply because she is the one who did not betray her race like Clare did. (One’s identity, especially as a black woman, is not to be discarded. The fight for self-love is already an uphill battle.) I was in agreement with her anger at Clare for deciding to pass and the audacity Clare had to butt back into Irene’s life like someone without considering that she was not wanted or welcomed. As the book went on, though, I liked Clare too. At the end of the day, she is an orphan whose surroundings motivated her to survive how she thought she should. Passing seemed like her only option to her at the time, and I’m not so high and mighty that I would sit here and pretend that death or whatever monstrous thing that could befall her is preferable to passing. And she was never so egotistic that she could not admit she regretted passing. Clare was just annoying/relentless enough to always feel a little put off by, but just sympathetic enough to tolerate. Irene probably towed the same line.
I wish there was a little bit more said about passing in and of itself. I do love the way it was presented here as a narrative, and the different ways these women went about it (some with husbands who knew the true race of their wives and some with husbands who were ignorant). I think what I actually want is simply for the book to be longer. More of Irene’s family life and the marital struggles, more of life entirely from Clare’s perspective, living with man who hates black people as a black woman, and her struggle with being a mother (I would’ve loved to hear more about this, of the maybe two underlines in my book, one is Clare’s comment about motherhood being the worst job). More into Clare and Irene’s passing friend. Just more into this whole concept. As I said, I picked it up because the idea of passing is so interesting, but I feel like I got just a lick of it. What was given to us though was great. I guess it’s a good thing when you’re left wanting more.
I really enjoyed the ending as well. The ambiguity of it all is exactly the kind that I can get behind. I choose to believe she commit suicide, personally; secondly, I choose to believe Irene pushed her. I do believe that Clare’s husband would kill her, but we really got a nice, strong build up into Irene’s slow mental degradation as Clare became a fixture in her life, and I honestly think it more likely she would have impulsively pushed her when she had the chance. She was thinking thoughts along those lines anyway, before the opportunity even presented itself.
Overall, awesome book. I have to look into more narratives re: passing.
This novel is Literature with a capital L. Written in 1929, this classic is an exploration of race and race relations (and their ever changing definitions and meanings), of reinvention, obligations, fears, social order/classic, secrets, and desires (and the lengths ppl can go to achieve them).
I know, that's a LOT in a 120-page novel, but Nella Larsen is SKILLED.
I know, that's a LOT in a 120-page novel, but Nella Larsen is SKILLED.