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A review by bookishrealm
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
4.0
Soooo...first I gave this book 4.5 stars. I have no idea where to even begin with my review.
The Vanishing Half is such a complex and timely novel. Colorism and being "white passing" has been and still remains a hot topic of discussion in the Black community. Brit Bennett brings both of these conversations to the forefront in a interesting way. The novel focuses on twins, Desiree and Stella, who grow up in a small town where they are forced to quit school at the age of 16 to help provide an income for their family. Unable to take the burden placed on them by their mother, the girls decide to leave for New Orleans. It's there that each decides to take a new path with their life. Desiree ends up marrying a dark skin man and having a daughter, while Stella decides to pass as white and marry a white man.
The psychology behind the assumptions and stereotypes placed on both narratives is rather intriguing. What I found most unique was the internalized hatred and racism that Black characters had for other Black characters based on how dark their skin was. Dark skin Black individuals are characterized as lazy and problematic while those that were lighter are treated with higher regard. In real life, a lot of those assumptions, thoughts, and feelings still linger. It was particularly interesting to see the advantages that Stella received once she was able to build her life around the lie that she was white. As much as it hurt me to see how much she hated her own blackness, I couldn't help but wonder how stressful and painful it was for her to pretend to be White and give up everything and everyone she loved. The amount of work it even took for Stella to maintain this lie throughout the novel made me exhausted. In comparison, Desiree lived a much simpler life; however, her daughter struggled with her identity as a child, teen, and adult because she was of a darker complexion. She had insecurities not only about the way she look, but also her self-worth. There were quite a few times where she continuously questions whether she is worthy of love.
The characterization and addition of Jude (Desiree's daughter) and Kennedy (Stella's daughter) made the novel even more interesting. Their comparison of their lives made me wonder if Bennett was attempting to say that owning one's Blackness isn't as unfortunate as some would like to paint it to be. I'm usually weary of one books attempt to address so many different perspectives over a large expanse of time, but of course Bennett was able to beautifully weave in each story without losing my attention or interest. The amount of topics that she was able to address in such a short period of time just sang to my soul. I've read her first book The Mothers, but now I know I need to pick it up again and buy a physical copy of this one.
I would say that everyone needs to read this book. It is such an important insight to such an important series of topics and Bennett, as always, handles each with such care. This is definitely going down as one of my favorite books of 2020. I did take off half a star because the ending wasn't what I was expecting or what I necessarily wanted. Other than that, this book is phenomenal!
The Vanishing Half is such a complex and timely novel. Colorism and being "white passing" has been and still remains a hot topic of discussion in the Black community. Brit Bennett brings both of these conversations to the forefront in a interesting way. The novel focuses on twins, Desiree and Stella, who grow up in a small town where they are forced to quit school at the age of 16 to help provide an income for their family. Unable to take the burden placed on them by their mother, the girls decide to leave for New Orleans. It's there that each decides to take a new path with their life. Desiree ends up marrying a dark skin man and having a daughter, while Stella decides to pass as white and marry a white man.
The psychology behind the assumptions and stereotypes placed on both narratives is rather intriguing. What I found most unique was the internalized hatred and racism that Black characters had for other Black characters based on how dark their skin was. Dark skin Black individuals are characterized as lazy and problematic while those that were lighter are treated with higher regard. In real life, a lot of those assumptions, thoughts, and feelings still linger. It was particularly interesting to see the advantages that Stella received once she was able to build her life around the lie that she was white. As much as it hurt me to see how much she hated her own blackness, I couldn't help but wonder how stressful and painful it was for her to pretend to be White and give up everything and everyone she loved. The amount of work it even took for Stella to maintain this lie throughout the novel made me exhausted. In comparison, Desiree lived a much simpler life; however, her daughter struggled with her identity as a child, teen, and adult because she was of a darker complexion. She had insecurities not only about the way she look, but also her self-worth. There were quite a few times where she continuously questions whether she is worthy of love.
The characterization and addition of Jude (Desiree's daughter) and Kennedy (Stella's daughter) made the novel even more interesting. Their comparison of their lives made me wonder if Bennett was attempting to say that owning one's Blackness isn't as unfortunate as some would like to paint it to be. I'm usually weary of one books attempt to address so many different perspectives over a large expanse of time, but of course Bennett was able to beautifully weave in each story without losing my attention or interest. The amount of topics that she was able to address in such a short period of time just sang to my soul. I've read her first book The Mothers, but now I know I need to pick it up again and buy a physical copy of this one.
I would say that everyone needs to read this book. It is such an important insight to such an important series of topics and Bennett, as always, handles each with such care. This is definitely going down as one of my favorite books of 2020. I did take off half a star because the ending wasn't what I was expecting or what I necessarily wanted. Other than that, this book is phenomenal!