No, so black she looked purple. To see what your friends thought of this book. The Vanishing Half tells the multi-generational story of the Vignes sisters, Desiree and Stella, two very pretty identical twins who grow up in the small town of Mallard, La. The story then moves back and forth in time and from the dif. The Vanishing Half is itself a novel that deals with the past, specifically the 1940s through the early 1990s. [11], Within a month of publication it was reported that HBO had acquired the rights for "low seven-figures" to develop a limited series with Brit Bennett as executive producer. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect? In 1954, at the age of 16, the twins run away to New Orleans. This and their upbringing in a small black community in Louisiana where people believe the lighter they are the better life will be. This book is getting a lot of buzz, so I was pleased that our book club chose it and gave me an excuse to pick it up. The Vanishing Half garnered acclaim from book critics, and was found by Emily Temple of Literary Hub to be the 2020 book most frequently listed among the year's best, making 25 lists. by Riverhead Books. The Vanishing Half is a novel that shows just how human emotion, uncertainty and longing can be captured and put on paper.” —Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie "A novel of immense, shining, powerful intelligence.” —Deborah Levy, two-time Booker shortlisted novelist Although the first 1/3 of the book was slow, once we start to see how two generations diverge and they connect later on, I became invested in each person's individual journeys as they grappled with race, loneliness, colorism, abuse, motherhood, and a sense of identity. Born and raised in Southern California, Brit Bennett graduated from Stanford University and later earned her MFA in fiction at the University of Michigan, where she won a Hopwood Award in Graduate Short Fiction as well as the 2014 Hurston/Wright Award for College Writers. HBO acquired the rights to develop a limited series with Bennett as executive producer. Born and raised in Southern California, Brit Bennett graduated from Stanford University and later earned her MFA in fiction at the University of Michigan, where she won a Hopwood Award in Graduate Short Fiction as well as the 2014 Hurston/Wright Award for College Writers. 'The Vanishing Half should mark the induction of Brit Bennett into the small group of likely successors to Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston and Nella Larsen. The Vanishing Half is a quintessential book club book. I can’t hardly wait to read it. Welcome back. The Vanishing Half garnered acclaim from book critics, and was found by Emily Temple of Literary Hub to be the 2020 book most frequently listed among the year's best, making 25 lists.[2]. It’s a poignant and lovely story that takes you through several lifetimes with empathy and hope. Why not focus on some serious family drama? It is her second novel and was published by Riverhead Books in 2020. "[7] In its starred review, Kirkus Reviews wrote, "The scene in which Stella adopts her white persona is a tour de force of doubling and confusion. The Vanishing Half is an intergenerational examination of identity, and what it's like to grow up in a body you've been conditioned to feel ashamed of. ", So well written and so interesting! The Vanishing Half is a novel I highly recommend as fiction and as historical fiction, to individuals and for a group discussion. my only wish is that her characters would jump off the page a bit more rather than just remain vessels/outlines for her stories to play out through. Their shedding of clothes and enjoying the water and sunshine serves to show how they have grown comfortable in their own skin. We’d love your help. However, Stella disappears shortly thereafter. The twins’ skin is light enough that Stella decides to “pass” as white and disappears from Desiree’s life in the late 1960s when they are in their early 20s. my only wish is that her characters would jump off the page a bit more rather than just remain vessels/outlines for her stories to play out through. Intricate prose. Maybe grief was the same.”, “She hadn't realized how long it takes to become somebody else, or how lonely it can be living in a world not meant for you.”, https://britbennett.com/the-vanishing-half, Orwell Prize Nominee for Political Fiction for Longlist (2021), Women's Prize for Fiction Nominee for Longlist (2021), Goodreads Choice Award for Historical Fiction (2020), Reading Women Award Nominee for Fiction (2020), See all 55 questions about The Vanishing Half…, Forthcoming Books for 2020 by African-Americans, Meredith ( on Semi-Hiatus until February), https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019.html, https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html, https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/, Discussion: The Vanishing Half (entire book open), The Vanishing Half - Brit Bennett - 4 stars, 33 Sweeping Multigenerational Family Dramas. The novel is a multi-generational family saga set between the 1940s to the 1990s and centers on identical twin sisters Desiree and Stella Vignes. Desiree and Stella are identical twin girls born in the 1950s in Mallard, a small town in Louisiana. I agree. This book was just ok. Brit Bennett’s intimate epic of a novel, The Vanishing Half, tells the whole Vignes twins saga, singing of how the sisterly bond between the two frays but never quite break and the costs of denying where one came from. *clears throat* *tries to summon some intellect* in a few sentences: brit bennett's intricate plot lines and ability to weave family dramas that stretch through years is definitely something to be admired. The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. by Brit Bennett. This and their upbringing in a small black community in Louisiana where people believe the lighter they are the better life will be. Not a flood, but water lapping steadily at her ankles. Her second novel The Vanishing Half was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller. Yet, I was still drawn to her and felt for her, trying to understand her more. In 1968, Desiree leaves an abusive marriage in Washington, D.C. and returns to Mallard with her eight-year-old dark-skinned daughter, Jude. "[8] The Washington Post called The Vanishing Half a "fierce examination of contemporary passing and the price so many pay for a new identity". 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