RIVERHEAD The Vanishing Half

4.75*What an amazing journey I’ve been on. Not sightseeing, more like “eye opening” moments.The Vanishing Half will not only enthrall you it will enlighten you.Twins. One skin colour lighter than the the other. Living in a small village named Mallard.Based around 1950’s and spanning down to 1990’s.Just why did these identical twins get split up when running away?What made them run?How did one twins life take a course so far in type to their peer?One sister living a totally black persons life while the other “passing” for white and whites privilegies.There is racism, there is hate.The sisters had their school life halted due to a difference in everyday life, they’re mama needed them to work, to bring in money.Running took the sisters on totally different paths.One having different relationships and experiences.The other marrying a white man who thought he had married a white woman.Both these sisters went on to have a daughter of their own.There are lots and lots of moments in this story I’d like to share, but, I’d prefer you to experience them whilst reading this book yourself.I remember the times when cemeteries were split. Deceased white people on one part of the land and black diseased on the other. The upkeep of the graves were done on the white side, but not the black.It touches on history here.But the reunion of the sisters I would have loved more emotional, and to see what happened if here husband learnt of the truth or not that she was indeed black.I’d love a book 2 on this. Following through the next generation.I’ve not read The Mothers by this author but I’m looking straight at it on my bookshelf so I’m definitely going to be reading that before 2020 has ended.

I thought that from the pages and pages of accolades printed at the start of this book that it would be a literary tour de force. Not so. It's a very plainly written book that fails to satisfy, with a somewhat abrupt conclusion with many unanswered questions. The idea of a light skin black woman choosing to pass as white is an interesting one. However, I never really felt I understood or believed Stella's motives. The book is an easy read which I finished in a few days. But despite being set in the 60s, 70s and 80s there was very little sense of time or place as the writing style was so simple lacking any real evocative descriptive writing. There was also amention of 'breath taking plot twists' . Well perhaps my book was missing a chapter or so as I saw no sign of those. So, an engaging enough read, but fails to deliver in the final third. Also, a strange trans gender theme that seemed to be shoehorned in to the plot completely unnecessary and only to tick a box for being, somehow 'relevant' to today's audiences. This theme felt clumsy, added nothing, and again felt unresolved.

Mallard is a strange town 'more idea than place'. This is reinforced as a place so small that it can't be found on an atlas though characters might try. The concept of Mallard was created as a place for people 'who would never be accepted as white but refused to be treated like Negroes.' This alternate third pathway extends the concept that Nella Larsen considers in her novella, Passing. ⁣⁣The real tests of the world come after Stella and Desiree Vignes run away at 16. New Orleans serves as the crossroads of the twins choosing different paths-Stella to a white world and Desiree doubling down by finding an even darker partner. ⁣⁣The next generation is where the impacts of race, colorism, and identity are really explored. The consequences of the twins' actions are lived out over the coming years; the story touches to Mallard, Los Angeles, and New York weaving the race reality all across the US. ⁣The characters truly shine amongst this seeming sociological experiment regarding the effect race can have on lifestyle. Bennett has crafted all these women to be truly imperfect, nuanced characters that you become invested in especially for me, the subsequent generation. ⁣⁣This novel is timely and as instructive as any non-fiction both on the power of race regards and colorism but also identity and how we socially construct that. This should be required reading for any young adult up through the elder stages of life.⁣⁣I will undoubtedly be revisiting this book time and time again. I already adore and am going to be pushing everyone I know and love to buy it, borrow from the library and share it.

Very, very poorly written. Really boring. This was a missed opportunity to shed light on important topics, but it seemed as if the author just wanted to get the book over with. As if she was meeting a page quota. I didn’t have any emotional attachment to any of the characters, I had to force myself to read the entire book, and the ending did nothing for me when I finally got there. Honestly, I wish I didn’t waste my money on this book. Really disappointed. The plot seemed interesting when I read a summary of the book before purchasing, but she just missed the mark.

📚 Two twin girls from a small unique town called Mallard. A community, although black, prides themselves on having light skin. Both twins struggle to find their place and decide to leave for the city. One eventually returns and the other creates a new life pretending to be white.💭 I feel the author tried to explore too many major issues such as; domestic abuse, gender identity, economic opportunities, colourism, racial violence, and family issues. I didn’t feel a connection to any character due to the story jumping timelines and between characters.Extremely poor ending, left feeling completely lost for words.