The Vanishing Half
Ratings457
Average rating4.1
So. Good. Just so good. Such incredible storytelling. Beautiful symmetry and mirroring. Foils on foils. Rich Louisiana culture. Truthful, subtle time-setting in the 60's - 80's. Explorations of racism, classism, sexism, white privilege. Absolutely none of it heavy-handed. Basically couldn't put it down.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and appreciated the unique perspectives from all the characters. While the beginning felt a bit too slow for my taste, the pace improved as the story progressed. My favorite character was Reese—his character offered excellent trans representation and I really enjoyed what he brought to the story. On the other hand, I found Stella to be my least favorite and wish her character had been explored more deeply.
I didn’t rate it higher because I felt certain aspects needed more depth, and the slow start made it hard to connect with the story early on. It wasn’t until the halfway point that I really became invested.
That said, I do think this is a book worth reading, and it’s one I’ll likely reflect on for a while.
Incredible novel about identity, prejudice, racial injustice and looking for what we think we deserve. This felt for me like that famous question “would you prefer to be poor but happy, or rich but sad?”.
I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters. I was emotionally tied to some of them. But I really didn't like how the book ended. I won't give anything away, but... I didn't like it. Yet, I enjoyed some of the characters so much that I've giving the book an overall 4 star rating anyway.
3.5/4 - to be honest, I don't know what I just read. While I wasn't bored out of my mind, I wasn't intrigued either. It became confusing to me once new characters were introduced. Also, I became overwhelmed by the timelines going back and forth. And I hate to say this, but I didn't like any of the characters l, so I couldn't root for anyone.
If you had asked me what I thought my rating would be before the end, it would have been 3.5 to 4. I just felt a little let down by the end- it felt rushed, the years going by in a blink, left wondering what was really going on with certain characters. There's so many important topics touched on in this book, but feels like we never get deep enough to really glean meaningful lessons from them in here. Perhaps that's intentionally- there's parts of this book that feel so long- which in some ways mimics the distance between the twins. And maybe it's intentional that the end feels so sudden and empty, as life happens a day at a time but the years pass by all at once. I just was left wanting a little more conclusion at the end.
I don't know why I waited so long to read this, but I could not stop listening to it, and I also never wanted it to end, and I also loved the ending. It is a masterpiece.
Desiree and Stella are twins who grew up in a teeny tiny town called Mallard, like the duck. Mallard is an interesting town, founded on the idea that there must be some middle ground between violent mistreatment of Black Americans and the elusive impunity of being white. The result is rampant colorism, a topic I am wholly unqualified to elaborate on.
The twins decide while teenagers they have had enough of Mallard. They strategically bolt, and for a time galivant around together. But soon they part ways with each other, too. They've not picked different colleges or careers or cities. No, they've picked to live as different races. This decision cements the foundation of a winding, multigenerational tale of denial and acceptance of self.
Bennett helps us ponder who and what must be left behind to access certain opportunities, and whether it's worth it. All of the characters are dimensional and human, with deep-rooted and believable motivations. She expertly toes the line of adding context and sympathy without letting characters off the hook for their choices.
I am fascinated by the idea of Stella leaving everything behind for a lifestyle and education that her own daughter wanted nothing to do with. It's actually a lot like High School Musical. No it isn't.
It's hard for me to talk through more specifics, because I think everyone should just read the whole thing. The audiobook narration was excellent. For some reason it reminded me of [b:The Warmth of Other Suns|8171378|The Warmth of Other Suns the Epic Story of America's Great Migration|Isabel Wilkerson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433354252l/8171378.SY75.jpg|13341052], which I realize is nonfiction, but is nevertheless a sprawling and moving journey over several decades. Fans of [b:Little Fires Everywhere|34273236|Little Fires Everywhere|Celeste Ng|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1522684533l/34273236.SY75.jpg|94930152] may also enjoy this, as both are slow-building domestic fictions about the complexities of race, class, and family in America.
“Her death hit in waves. Not a flood, but water lapping steadily at her ankles. You could drown in two inches of water. Maybe grief was the same.”
It's been a while since I was speechless with how beautifully written a book was written but I am so glad it was The Vanishing Half that took that place for me since it's been on my TBR for one of the longest times.
Exploring the topics of race, identity and belonging, it's hard to not immediately become absorbed by what you're reading on each page. It touches on the ultimate privilege that white people had and still do have in society.
It touches on these subjects with a blunt honesty that I appreciated and I feel like we need to see more of that.
I loved that towards the end of the story it began to focus on the journey of the two daughters. One of which was able to grow up with many opportunities due to her passing as white compared to the other daughter who didn't get to do that and had limited opportunities. I found it incredibly interesting that it was the daughter who grew up with less that had more.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and I think it's going to be one that I will be thinking of for a very long time.
This was truly excellent– I ate this up and it has helped me even more out of my reading slump, so kudos to the author.
Super goed boek, zo bijzonder omschreven hoe twee mensen uit dezelfde omgeving, dezelfde familie, dezelfde achtergrond, zo anders komen te leven. En hoe ze daar mee om zijn gegaan.
De figuren zijn niet heel erg ver uitgewerkt, wat ik wel een gemis vind. Maar het hindert het verhaal en de verhaallijn ook niet.
This book was perfect - since the begging to the last page! I wasn't expecting to be this amazing! One of the best experiences as a reader that I had until today! ❤️
What an amazing masterpiece!
i'm thinking 3.65-3.7 stars on this one
The vanishing half is a story about two twin sisters so light-skinned they could pass as white, as do most people in their small hometown, Mallard. They flee from town as teenagers and live in New Orleans for a while, where they ultimately make a splitting decision that will change their lives forever, as well as their respective daughters. We follow their stories from their childhood, in the 50s, until they're middle aged in the 90s.
the array of topics approached in this book is impressive, going from colorism to internalized racism to domestic violence to identity (be it about race or gender), to classism, depression, trauma, self-worth and more; I appreciated reading about all of these but it was so much, it felt like some of them only scratched the surface and left me wanting more. I'd rather have read half of these and have a more focused story where we delved into the twins lives and their own stories.
But i did love that the author showed the consequences of the twins' decisions, affecting their daughters even when they're grown adults.
i really disliked Stella, i believe it was done on purpose but jaysos. Her chapters though, i was really into them, and i loved to see the whole arc with Loretta. I, however, disliked her daughter, Kennedy, and i think her chapters were my least favorite, i would go as far as saying they were almost not needed, or at least her part should have been much shorter
I Loved Jude's parts though, especially the ones with Reese, a trans man who she befriends and later becomes romantically involved with. Gotta love how positively it was portrayed and if it's unrealistic i don't care I still loved it. I'm not completely sure about the parallels between his transition and Stella's “transition”, though.
The ending... I wasn't crazy about it. I cant explain why but when it was over I was like really? That's it? I loved certain parts of the book so much and others i was begging to get them over with but the ending was painfully unremarkable to me. I know in these generational stories the ending will always be open and have some issues to still be unresolved but idk, i wanted more.
This was the first time i consumed a book as an audio! I don't know if it affected my enjoyment in any way but i liked the reading! I will be on the lookout for more Brit Bennet in the future!
It took me awhile to get into this book. I'd read a lot of good things about it but it just wasn't my cup of tea. The jumping between characters and years was a little annoying. I'm glad Stella went home even if it was just for a night!
I am officially dnfing this at 40%. I tried but i just wasn't feeling it. I might return to it at a later date. But for the time being I won't be finishing it.
I am officially dnfing this at 40%. I tried but i just wasn't feeling it. I might return to it at a later date. But for the time being I won't be finishing it.
4.75
Oh wow when it ended I wanted to cry, coz I enjoyed being in this world and it felt like I was saying bye to a person who was so close to me.
Also one of the easiest 4.75 stars!! And another thing, if you know me..I HATEEE long chapters in books with a passion but in this I was just flying thru it coz this book was AMAZING!
The book is divided into 6 parts and the author narrates the story in multiple POVS. Which I found really interesting because we got to look at the situation from all of the characters perspectives.
The book touched on many important topics which opened my eyes to many of the situations we face in our day to day lives.
Fav characters: Jude and Reese for sure!
A very interesting story but I struggled through the long chapters. There was too much going on for me with this kind of pacing. I'm glad I stuck with it though because it was nothing like I've ever read before.
I liked this book for the topics that were discussed and the intergenerational storytelling. The first third of the book was a little slow and I wished we cod have gotten even deeper into certain topics.
for most of the book it was a 2 star read for me. I went into the book thinking it was one thing and it it was entirely different than everyone else has told me so i was a bit thrown off. I didn't connect with the characters until the very end.
I bumped it up to a 3 star because i finally connected with the characters and i let the story sink in.
Idk why i didn't like this book as much as i expected, the plot and story of this book is right up my alley but maybe i went in with too high of expectations
3.5 Stars.
Well-written lovely little slice-of-life story about race, identity, and family. My favorite part of the book was that, like life, there was a poignant theme of “Okay, and now life goes on...” that was woven so strongly throughout the entire narrative.