The Vanishing Half

 

What happens when two identical light-skinned African American twins choose different paths through life: one opting to embrace the identity she was born with; the other choosing to deny it?  That’s the premise of this book, which follows the lives and relationships of twins Desiree and Stella Vignes.  In Desiree’s case, we see a woman rebelling against her hometown’s preoccupation with “lightness” by pursuing a path in which she marries and has a very dark-skinned daughter, Jude.  In Stella’s case, we see a woman rebelling against her natural identity as a black woman by using the lightness of her skin to pass as a white woman - ultimately marrying a white man and having a daughter, Kennedy, who by all appearances is white.

Without giving specifics, what follows is the hot mess that happens when someone is desperate to be something they’re not and lives a life of secrecy and lies that walls everyone they love out.  The very freedom they’re so desperate to obtain keeps them in a prison of their own making and erodes their relationships with all those who love them. It also shows the unintended and long-lasting repercussions of those choices on their families and acquaintances.  On a positive note, it’s also a story of finding peace despite those choices and creating new paths toward the future. 

This was really well written and thoughtfully handled.  The story is actually largely told through the experiences of Jude and Kennedy, who are dealing not only with their mothers’ relationships and histories with each other, but also their relationship with each other as cousins and the paths they’ve chosen for their own lives. I personally liked their stories almost a little more than their moms’ stories, though both were good.  Jude, in particular, is a fascinating character, and I enjoyed the evolution of her relationship with her boyfriend Reese and with Kennedy.  I also like the portrayal of most of the male characters in the book.  It’s refreshing to see male characters portrayed as supportive partners.  The characters’ stories and timelines jump around, which can be a little confusing at times, but not distractingly so.  Themes include racial and gender identity, relationships, family dysfunction, historical racial tensions, white privilege, prejudice, and socioeconomic inequality, among other topics.  

Brit Bennett has written an excellent book and it’s well worth reading.

★★★★★