Book Review: The Vanishing Half

Title: The Vanishing Half 

Author: Brit Bennett

Blurb: Twins, inseparable as children, ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds: one black and one white.  

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. Ten years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect?

There has been ALOT of hype about this book and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it to find out what it's all about. This is a fiction story but it is written so wonderfully you could be forgiven for thinking of it as non-fiction.

Plot

This is a tale of family, race, identity and self-discovery. It's bluntly honest yet subtly moving. I wouldn't say I was gripped to the edge of my seat, fervently turning the pages to find out what happens next, but it's not that kind of book. Although, that's not to say I couldn't put it down! Instead I found I turned each page carefully, taking in every single word and absorbing the story with absolute joy. 

The story is about twins, Desiree and Stella Vignes, who are brought up in a small town in America called Mallard. Mallard is a small black community however mainly comprised of light-skinned African-Americans. When Desiree and Stella turn sixteen they decide to run away together to start a new life but once there, the once inseparable and identical twins choose to go down two very different paths which see them separated in more ways than one. Desiree, who is initially the more outgoing and rebellious twin finds a job and seemingly settles down. Stella, the shy twin, makes the decision to "pass over" and become white. For years the twins lose touch and have no contact with each other until one day the paths of their two daughters cross and their stories become intertwined again. 

Characters

There are four main characters: Desiree, Stella, Jude (Desiree's daughter) and Kennedy (Stella's daughter). Each one has their own story and each are very different. 

Desiree and Stella are both brought up in a majority African-American community but of such light skin that the opinion of the locals since the days of its founder is that, the lighter your skin, the better. Both twin had their own reason for leaving Mallard, both feeling trapped and restricted and wanting more out of life. 

Although each of these characters has a very poignant and important part in the plot and an equally important message in each of their stories, the main story that ties them all together is undoubtedly Stella's. I've got to be honest, I'd never heard of the term "passing over" in any other sense other than, well...death. But in a way the meaning for both are quite similar. Passing over as detailed in this book is (as quoted  from  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passing_(racial_identity))  when a person who "classifies as a person of one racial group "passes" as a member of another." Stella makes the decision to pass as White to provide herself with better opportunities in life. Never has the term "white privilege" stuck out in my mind so much as it did when I did some more reading to better understand the concept of passing over. I don't think Bennett ever uses the term "White Privilege" in this book but the way throughout the story you see Stella battling with her past self and her new self made me think back to being a teenager and wishing I could be anyone other than myself...except I was never denied anything because of who I was, who my ancestors were or the colour of my skin. The only pressure I had was to work hard in school and get decent grades and be a decent person. Stella did all those things and yet it took for her to pretend to be white to be noticed. And the effects it has on her sister, daughter and niece, all of whom face their own battles in identity and love is incredible. 

I really loved that the knock on effects of the twins choices were shown and reflected through the lives of their daughters years later. This story is about roots and no matter how hard you try to get rid them of they just carry on growing and multiplying through each generation. 

Writing Style

So this story flicks between the points of view if all four of the above mentioned characters and moves between the past and future but I found rather than feeling like I was jumping back and forth between one step to the other, it was more like jumping from one steadily moving train to the other in equal rhythm which I enjoyed. I'll admit, the first few chapters are slower than the rest of the book but they provide some great background into the live of the locals in the twins' hometown which really sets the scene for the rest of the book.

Book Cover: 

I know there are two versions of the book cover for this one and personally I think I like the other one a bit more just for the pattern (if you haven't seen it, check it out) but I do really like this one, the green and pink are so vibrant and the two heads are really intriguing particularly if you have (somehow) never heard what this book is about. 

I can't possibly give this one anything lower than a 5* rating. It 100% lived up to all the talk and hype and has taught me things I didn't know before which I love in a good modern contemporary book. 

Review Summary: 

Plot  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Characters ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Writing Style ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book Cover: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (easily a big 5 stars!!)