A review by lovelybookshelf
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I read THE VANISHING HALF with my virtual book club, and we had an especially thoughtful, moving discussion about it. This novel explores internalized racism, beauty standards, colorism, and passing. But Bennett also reaches into the complexity of autonomy and independence vs. familial ties and obligations. Sometimes, the path that feels right for one person can deeply hurt others. How do we navigate that? What is the "right" choice? And what influences the decisions we make for our own lives?

There's a trans man side character and...his first appearance included a few instances of deadnaming. Cis authors, you've got to stop doing this—if you'd been listening at all, you'd know this was established *years* ago. Other than that, the rep was quite good and felt accurate for the time period. (I'd like to see what trans men who've read and reviewed the book have to say.) Best of all, he wasn't a tragic character! So that was wonderful.

This story brought up some big feelings re: my own complicated family, about being/not being seen or understood. The ending was especially moving and tears were shed. Bennett's previous novel, THE MOTHERS, has been sitting unread on my bookshelf for a couple of years, but now that I've experienced her writing, I'm hoping to get to that book soon. 
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