"The Vanishing Half" by Brit Bennett is a multi-generational family saga set from the 1940s–1990s and centers on identical twin sisters Desiree and Estelle "Stella" Vignes and their daughters Jude and Kennedy, respectively. Desiree and Stella are black and have exceptionally light skin. They are raised in the fictional town of Mallard, Louisiana, where the residents are exclusively people with light skin. Desiree and Stella witness the lynching of their father in the 1940s and feel discontent living in Mallard where there are few opportunities for them. A formative moment for the twins is when their mother Adele pulls them out of school so they can earn money cleaning a family's home. Stella is sexually abused by the man who owns the home and conceals this from her family. The twins decide to run away to New Orleans. Stella begins to pass for white so she can work as a secretary at a marketing firm called Maison Blanche. Her wealthy boss, Blake, falls for her, and she moves to California with him without telling Desiree. Desiree is left heartbroken and ends up in an abusive marriage to a man named Sam Winston.
“The Vanishing Half” draws you in to the historically familiar story and systemic trauma of racism commingled with the lingering ache that comes from the distance between estranged family. It’s set in a time that feels like it could be both the past and the present at once. Bennett does an amazing job exploring the complex issue of colorism throughout the story.
Post a Comment