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A review by vicki_cosy_books
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
5.0
The Vanishing Half caught my attention a few weeks ago after reading some raving reviews and I requested it from Netgalley immediately. Not having read Brit Bennett’s previous book, I went in with no expectation but man, does this book live up to it’s high praise
Telling the stories of twin sisters, Stella and Desiree Vignes, brought up in a small town in 1960’s America where unusually, the community is almost entirely made up of light skinned black people. When the twins run away from their small town, and eventually separate, one will end up returning to the place she tried to escape while the other will pass herself off as white, living a life that otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to access but also living a lie
Wow. This book is amazing. There’s just so much to think about as it takes on issues of race, identity, gender, prejudice, belonging and so much more. It’s timely, insightful and thought provoking. The comparisons between the two sisters lives, and that of their daughters, are both shocking and heartbreaking
Brit Bennett’s writing is gorgeous. I couldn’t put this book down, becoming fully invested in not just Desiree and Stella’s lives, but their daughters Jude and Kennedy, two completely different girls who both feel the ripples of their mother’s choices. I read it over a couple of days and when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it and desperate to return. I can’t recommend this beautiful book enough, and I’ll certainly be picking up Brit’s previous book as soon as I can. A must read
Telling the stories of twin sisters, Stella and Desiree Vignes, brought up in a small town in 1960’s America where unusually, the community is almost entirely made up of light skinned black people. When the twins run away from their small town, and eventually separate, one will end up returning to the place she tried to escape while the other will pass herself off as white, living a life that otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to access but also living a lie
Wow. This book is amazing. There’s just so much to think about as it takes on issues of race, identity, gender, prejudice, belonging and so much more. It’s timely, insightful and thought provoking. The comparisons between the two sisters lives, and that of their daughters, are both shocking and heartbreaking
Brit Bennett’s writing is gorgeous. I couldn’t put this book down, becoming fully invested in not just Desiree and Stella’s lives, but their daughters Jude and Kennedy, two completely different girls who both feel the ripples of their mother’s choices. I read it over a couple of days and when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it and desperate to return. I can’t recommend this beautiful book enough, and I’ll certainly be picking up Brit’s previous book as soon as I can. A must read