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A review by katykelly
Passing by Nella Larsen
4.0
Short read, illuminating on attitudes and a point in recent history.
I heard about this novella recently, and thought it sounded as though it was something I SHOULD read. While it's brief and there's little in the way of action, it does give an impression of attitudes and society of a hundred years ago, and what things were like for those 'of colour'.
A black woman is contacted by someone she knew when young, who 'passes' as white though is culturally and physically black. The slight plot looks at these two women, one of whom has purposefully hidden her origins from her white husband (who is himself prejudiced), the other uses her own light skin to her advantage on occasion but who has not distanced herself away from her neighbours or community.
It is when a moral dilemma rears its ugly head that this secret threatens to become exposed and cause harm. How the book ends is short, sharp and quite shocking. Its implications are not explored.
I can see why it's been made into a Netflix production. This is potentially dramatic and definitely discussion-worthy. It's an issue that isn't one that contemporary audiences will have seen before in film or literature as society has changed radically since then, so it's so interesting to see it conveyed here. It raises a lot of questions about the character's motivations, how they've kept up the pretence, how their family members feel about them, implications for discovery, and more.
A very quick read, and one that lingers.
I heard about this novella recently, and thought it sounded as though it was something I SHOULD read. While it's brief and there's little in the way of action, it does give an impression of attitudes and society of a hundred years ago, and what things were like for those 'of colour'.
A black woman is contacted by someone she knew when young, who 'passes' as white though is culturally and physically black. The slight plot looks at these two women, one of whom has purposefully hidden her origins from her white husband (who is himself prejudiced), the other uses her own light skin to her advantage on occasion but who has not distanced herself away from her neighbours or community.
It is when a moral dilemma rears its ugly head that this secret threatens to become exposed and cause harm. How the book ends is short, sharp and quite shocking. Its implications are not explored.
I can see why it's been made into a Netflix production. This is potentially dramatic and definitely discussion-worthy. It's an issue that isn't one that contemporary audiences will have seen before in film or literature as society has changed radically since then, so it's so interesting to see it conveyed here. It raises a lot of questions about the character's motivations, how they've kept up the pretence, how their family members feel about them, implications for discovery, and more.
A very quick read, and one that lingers.