This Black History Month we chose to read The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. The novel explores identity, race, family, and what happens when hidden truths emerge.
Light-skinned Black twin sisters, Desiree and Stella, run away from their small Louisiana town. One sister decides to pass as white and break free from her past. The other leaves her abusive marriage to return home with her dark-skinned daughter. Then their daughters meet…
Ever felt like a story was trying too hard? This was one of the several verdicts on The Vanishing Half. Most of the group had read and finished the story.
While the concept of looking at 1960s segregation through the eyes of a family on both sides of the divide, some of the group felt that the author had made it quite stereotypical. It did make us feel uncomfortable comparing the lives of the twin sisters – rich and poor, adored and abused, white and Black. However we concluded that this was the author’s intention. In fact as one group member said, the story was like reading a randomised control trial.
One of our main issues was that we found some – most – of the characters unlikeable, especially Stella (the sister passing for white). It felt as though everything bad would always happen to Desiree. One member said that they struggled with Stella’s disconnect from the family. Other readers didn’t find the characters particularly believable, although there were comments that the daughters (Kennedy and Jude) were more realistic than their mothers. Reese (a trans man who was the partner of Jude) seemed like an attempt to give the novel another layer but it somehow didn’t work.
Most of us found that first half of the novel quite slow (although the pace did get quicker further on). However the group was united in feeling that the book finished abruptly and although this isn’t an issue with some books, here it left unanswered questions and a general feeling of dissatisfaction. The most positive verdicts for the novel were ‘it was ok’, and ‘it could have been so much more.’
The Vanishing Half scored 3/5
As we didn’t have much else to say about The Vanishing Half, we had a short chat about other books, and on our collective To Be Read/Recommended pile are the following:
- Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
- The Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman
- Hagseed by Margaret Atwood
- Atmosphere: a Love Story by Taylor Jenkins-Reed
One toxic family. Eight suspicious guests.
Welcome to McAlpine Lodge, a perfect luxury getaway… until a woman’s body is found.
The suspects?
- The cruel father.
- The toxic mother.
- The bitter family.
- The silent staff.
- The suspicious guests.
Everyone is guilty, but who is a killer?
Pick up your copy from the Library in GETEC now. Why not join our next meeting on Teams at 12.30-1.00pm, on Tuesday 4th November.
Find out more about our reading groups here or take a look at some of our previous book reviews.
We look forward to seeing you!