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Passing
Larsen's status as a Harlem Renaissance woman writer was rivaled by only Zora Neale Hurston s. This Norton Critical Edition of her electrifying 1929 novel includes Carla Kaplan s detailed and thought-provoking introduction, thorough explanatory annotations, and a Note on the Text. An unusually rich Background and Contexts section connects the novel to the historical events...more
Paperback, Norton Critical Edition, 546 pages
Published
August 1st 2007
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published 1929)
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Mar 15, 2012
Elijah Kinch Spector
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites
[Cross-posted on my blog, and accompanied by pretty much the best author photo I've ever seen.]
First of all, please, for God's sake, if you're thinking of reading The Help, just fucking stop yourself and read something that's about the actual effects of real racism on real people, and not engineered to make white people feel good about themselves. In Passing, even many of the most enlightened folks carry some bigotry around, and the most horribly racist character is still, terrifyingly enough, a...more
First of all, please, for God's sake, if you're thinking of reading The Help, just fucking stop yourself and read something that's about the actual effects of real racism on real people, and not engineered to make white people feel good about themselves. In Passing, even many of the most enlightened folks carry some bigotry around, and the most horribly racist character is still, terrifyingly enough, a...more
I must admit that Nella Larson completes a fantastic feat in only 114 pages.
This book makes you think: about race, race relations, and one's own anxieties about "the other". It makes you question your own sense of self, what it means to be, to identify with something, anything really. What does it mean to be authentic? To be an individual? To be part of a group? To be a human being? To have a color of any type, and to accept it, or reject it. What does it all mean?
I was reading the Times this m...more
This book makes you think: about race, race relations, and one's own anxieties about "the other". It makes you question your own sense of self, what it means to be, to identify with something, anything really. What does it mean to be authentic? To be an individual? To be part of a group? To be a human being? To have a color of any type, and to accept it, or reject it. What does it all mean?
I was reading the Times this m...more
Nov 25, 2010
Pamela
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone
Recommended to Pamela by:
Roberta Johnson
Shelves:
afro-american-women-lit,
social-agenda-reads
"Passing" by Nella Larsen was a very poignant and powerful read. It explores the concept of passing which is basically pretending to be someone you're not for your own personal, selfish gain. Ms. Larsen's achieves this through her two main characters, both African-American women, Irene and Clare.
Irene was born African-American, and she grows up to marry a successful African-American doctor. As a result, she chooses to stay within the African-American community, and she only "passes" when it's co...more
Irene was born African-American, and she grows up to marry a successful African-American doctor. As a result, she chooses to stay within the African-American community, and she only "passes" when it's co...more
This book isn't all that much fun to read, but it asks a lot of questions. It is about a black woman that passes as a white person, even her husband doesn't know. She has to live a life of fear and lies.
How many of us "pass" and live a different life than who we really are? What do we sacrifice to appear as someone else?
How many of us "pass" and live a different life than who we really are? What do we sacrifice to appear as someone else?
this short, deceptively simple novel is full of great ideas. the story concerns a conflicted friendship between two light-skinned african-american women, one of whom "passes" for white. the novel was written in the 1920's, and provides an interesting look at black cosmopolitan life during the jim crow era. in fact, it addresses a whole host of things in addition to the racial predicament of its title: desire, etiquette, parenthood, marriage, jealousy. passing is occasionally melodramatic (especi...more
Really enjoyed reading this book!! It was recommended to me from a high school student in my old youth program. It was written during the Harlem Renaissance and written like a play in 3 acts. The two main characters are African American women. One "passes" as a White woman when it's convenient to her but is married to a Black man. The other "passes" as a White woman all the time and is a married to a man who is racist...and doesn't know she's black! I found the plot interesting, especially becau...more
Jan 15, 2008
Elizabeth
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
librivox-recordings
Nella Larsen’s remarkable second novel, first published in 1929 during the height of the Harlem Renaissance, is about the fraught relationship between two very different women who engage in very different kinds of passing. Irene and Clare were friends when they were growing up on Chicago’s south side, but haven’t seen each other for a dozen years when they meet by chance at a ritzy segregated hotel. Both women are passing as white; however, Irene only passes occasionally and for the sake of conv...more
Big stories sometimes come in small packages. Nella Larsen’s 1929 novella Passing packs a punch that’s even felt in today’s society. The story centers around the mixed blessing of being a “black” who is able to “pass” as white. Two women, old acquaintances, rekindle their friendship, one choosing to pass, the other silently envious as well as patronizing of the other’s choosing to do so as she chooses not. The writing is careful in word choice and texture. It gave me a feel for the setting as we...more
Passing is a story about a friendship between two black women. Both of these women and different perspectives on their race (being Afro-American). Claire Kendry(the main character) grew up a poor mulatto on Chicago's south side. Her father died and her white Aunt's raised her. While living with them, she wasn't allowed to acknowledge her "negro blood." She quickly saw the advantages of "passing" for white and when an opportunity came for her to marry a white guy in her Aunt's neighborhood she to...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Jan 30, 2013
Dray
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fast-reads,
grad-school
First novel of the semester. It was a good one to start with in this "African American Lit III" class because at this point we've all already read the slave narratives, Beloved , etc. But even though I've taken African American Lit courses in my undergraduate years, I had never heard of passing, and I don't just mean this book. I somehow missed that "passing" as white was even a thing. Obviously skin tones differ, but I had no idea that black women would pass as white in order to get tea, for ex...more
A well-written, eye-opening novelette about a topic I've never given any thought to: passing. A by-product of Jim Crow laws, "passing" was where a person who was considered legally or socially black moved into a white social or legal identity. In other words, if your skin was light enough to look white or Spanish or something other than negro, you could pass for white, with all the attending privileges and status. But what happens when you try to pass as white in a world where if you're found ou...more
"'I guess,' she told the Samaritan, 'it's tea I need. On a roof somewhere.'"
"She had been alone there at the window and it had been so satisfyingly quiet. Now, or course, they would chatter."
"Irene couldn't quite define it, but she was sure that she would have classed it, coming from another woman, as being just a shade too provocative for a waiter."
"With each succeeding one she was taller, shabbier, and more belligerently sensitive."
"He had been a son of their brother's, on the left hand. A wil...more
"She had been alone there at the window and it had been so satisfyingly quiet. Now, or course, they would chatter."
"Irene couldn't quite define it, but she was sure that she would have classed it, coming from another woman, as being just a shade too provocative for a waiter."
"With each succeeding one she was taller, shabbier, and more belligerently sensitive."
"He had been a son of their brother's, on the left hand. A wil...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
A book small enough to feel like a short story but deep enough to feel like a tome on race. What an accomplishment! Passing is about passing for white in the 20's. The story takes place in New York. Irene, a married woman with two sons, occasionally passes when it's convenient to do so. But her husband is dark and she cannot maintain a false self. When she is reunited with an old childhood friend, Clare, who has not only completely made the transformation from black to white but is also married...more
Feb 03, 2011
Ari
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
all
Recommended to Ari by:
Zetta Elliott
Shelves:
read-in-2011
This is one of my new favorite classics. It's short and to the point. I love that the author says what she means, instead of beating around the bush. I've come to the conclusion that a preresquite for classics is that they must have a tragic ending and this book does not disappoint on that end. Furthermore, I've noticed that the person who commits the crime is never sure as to what exactly happens and the whole thing is rather vague. The one thing I didn't like was that Gertrude didn't have much...more
Though not written with any particular superb brilliance, Passing is extremely poignant when it comes to social commentary in or around Harlem in the 1920s, when race turmoil was more prevalent in NYC than car horns. Clare's "passing" off as a white woman and what it means in her infidelity to her native culture is distinctly vilified by Larson, who punishes the character with death. Conversely, Irene, who is truly the protagonist, as our gaze is wholly upon her, acts out of a defense of her rac...more
"Passing" by Nella Larsen is a book that deals with racism and sexuality. There is a woman named Irene who finds an old friend that she comes to learn is passing as a "white" woman.They become friends again although Irene really doesn't want to be her friend. Irene can't help but to be sucked into her friend,Clair's, magnetic personality. There is a certain mystery to Clair that makes her popular with many and a flirtation in her actions that makes many question "Has she passed the line?" Many t...more
Mar 12, 2010
Jacob Taylor
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
independent-reading
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Larsen, Nella. PASSING. (1929). ****. Larsen was perhaps the leading woman writer during the Harlem Renaissance, and explored the shifting racial and sexual boundaries between black and white. In this novel, we meet clare Kendry. She is living a dangerous and false life. She is fair skinned, elegant, and ambitious. She is married to a white man who is unaware of her African-American heritage, and has severed all ties to her past. Clare’s childhood friend, Irene Redfield, who is just as light-ski...more
Excerpt from a reflection for a course entitled "Queer Narratives/Queer Sexualities":
"I think it beautifully illustrates the idea that identity is not and can never be one thing for individuals in a group, despite the fact that they may place themselves underneath one particular identity heading. The explicit disjunction that Irene feels between her own personal interests and the collective interests of her race when it comes to Clare is a perfect example of this; conversely, the disjunction tha...more
"I think it beautifully illustrates the idea that identity is not and can never be one thing for individuals in a group, despite the fact that they may place themselves underneath one particular identity heading. The explicit disjunction that Irene feels between her own personal interests and the collective interests of her race when it comes to Clare is a perfect example of this; conversely, the disjunction tha...more
I wouldn't call this book a great, enormous masterpiece but I really enjoyed it. It's about Irene and Clare, two black women living during the 20s around Harlem. Both have fair skin and can pass as white. Irene is married to a black man and they have two children and she is part of the black bourgeoisie. They have a nice house and a maid and they go on nice vacations and eat off of fancy china, etc. Totally members of the black upper middle class establishment. Clare, on the other hand, passes a...more
Passing takes a hard look at race, specifically African American and Caucasian, the difference between black and white, and what happens when someone crosses those lines. Both Clare Kendry and Irene Redfield are very light skinned; Irene chooses to remain in the African American community while Clare passes and marries a white man, not even telling him of her race. A chance meeting reunites them after years of separation and Clare becomes again part of Irene's life, much to her eventual displeas...more
Passing is an intriguing book. The concept of passing, or a black person slipping into white society unnoticed due to their light skin, is an interesting concept. However, Nella Larsen focuses more on the emotions of the protagonist, Irene Redfield, than her experiences while ‘passing’. The book had some action in it, but it took a while to reach it. Some of the problems with racial loyalty approached by the book were interesting but more action would have been preferable. Overall, Passing was a...more
There's a reason why the critical introduction to this book is almost as long as the book itself. The novel(la?) isn't written in a particularly skillful style, the plot is sensational, and the characters only come alive in analysis. It's significant because of the eponymous theme and how Larsen treats it -- the narrator's (who 'passes' occasionally, in certain social situations or in public) conflicted emotions over her childhood friend's 'passing' (this friend is married to a white man who is...more
This book started out strong, but I found the ending so boring that it dropped from a five-star book to a three-star one.
In Passing, two women meet on the rooftop of a hotel in 1920s Chicago, recognize each other, and begin a conversation. Both are black women "passing" as white, one (the protagonist) just for the convenience of enjoying a cool drink on a hot day, the other because she has fully left black society, having married a white man unaware of her ancestry. The protagonist, Irene, is un...more
In Passing, two women meet on the rooftop of a hotel in 1920s Chicago, recognize each other, and begin a conversation. Both are black women "passing" as white, one (the protagonist) just for the convenience of enjoying a cool drink on a hot day, the other because she has fully left black society, having married a white man unaware of her ancestry. The protagonist, Irene, is un...more
A spare, psychological portrait of race, class, and gender, set and written in the 1920's. As the author herself, the book redefines assumptions about the African-American experience and transcends the politically correct. Riveting.
Apr 29, 2012
Frank
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
1001-books-you-must-read
Interesting social commentary from the 1920s on what it means to be of mixed race and the consequences of "passing" for white. It really is a reflection on the times when the color of your skin meant so much! I thought this short novella by Nella Larsen not only excellently portrayed how both whites and blacks reacted to "passing" but it was also a great glimpse into the time of the "Harlem renaissance" of the 1920s. Very thought-provoking and imaginative.
This novel also reminded me of the super...more
This novel also reminded me of the super...more
Sep 28, 2011
Julia Miele Rodas
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
bcc-reading-challenge
Passing
Nella Larsen
(1929)
This book was doubly enticing for me since I haven't delved all that deeply into Harlem Renaissance writing and because the idea of "passing" is a persistent interest and concern of my from a disability standpoint. Recently, in fact, public conversations about being "out" as a disabled scholar and my reading of Brenda Jo Brueggemann and Debra A. Moddelmog's "Coming Out Pedagogy: Risking Identity in Language and Literature Classrooms" have me obsessing about what others s...more
Nella Larsen
(1929)
This book was doubly enticing for me since I haven't delved all that deeply into Harlem Renaissance writing and because the idea of "passing" is a persistent interest and concern of my from a disability standpoint. Recently, in fact, public conversations about being "out" as a disabled scholar and my reading of Brenda Jo Brueggemann and Debra A. Moddelmog's "Coming Out Pedagogy: Risking Identity in Language and Literature Classrooms" have me obsessing about what others s...more
I was so sure I'd reviewed this early on in my tenure on goodreads,
but I can't find it...
I read this only a few years and could not believe I'd never come across it sooner. Fascinating...and I will have to write a real review of it.
====
and now I see I'd reviewed a different edition, which included other works of hers as well:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I read this book because I'm interested in the literature of "Passing" and was curious about Nella Larsen's short novel with that tit...more
but I can't find it...
I read this only a few years and could not believe I'd never come across it sooner. Fascinating...and I will have to write a real review of it.
====
and now I see I'd reviewed a different edition, which included other works of hers as well:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I read this book because I'm interested in the literature of "Passing" and was curious about Nella Larsen's short novel with that tit...more
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Nellallitea 'Nella' Larsen (first called Nellie Walker) was an American novelist of the Harlem Renaissance who wrote two novels and a few short stories. Though her literary output was scant, what she wrote earned her recognition by her contemporaries and by present-day critics.
More about Nella Larsen...
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“The trouble with Clare was, not only that she wanted to have her cake and eat it too, but that she wanted to nibble at the cakes of other folk as well.”
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“Everything can't be explained by some general biological phrase.”
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Nov 14, 2012 09:57am
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