The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Inhaled is an appropriate verb for how I read The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. Did it meet the hype? Yes, and more! If you’ve been meaning to buy or borrow it, there’s no need to linger!

Desiree and Stella are identical twins who live in a town called Mallard near Louisiana in America which can’t be found on any map. The inhabitants of this town are all mixed race, light-skinned black people. Stifled by their small town lives they run away aged 16, but once in New Orleans, Stella and Desiree part ways. Desiree lives the life of a black woman and Stella decides to live a lie pretending to be a white woman.

This book is so relevant for the current times we are living in. Bennett delves into racism, transgenderism, domestic abuse, white privilege and white passing over four decades and weaves these topics into the story so seamlessly. The narrative flows like water and it was near to impossible to put the book down - I finished it in a day and a half. I loved the relationship between Jude, Desiree’s daughter, and her boyfriend Reese. It was interesting to see the racism within the light-skinned black community itself and how they discriminated against darker skinned black people. This is a feature common within many ethnic communities too. I thought the ending was just so perfect. I’m excited to read more from Bennett.

I feel like a re-read may be needed to make sure I’ve not missed anything as I got through it so quickly!

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