Discussion: The Vanishing Half (entire book open)

[ColumbusReads]

Here is where you can discuss the entirety of THE VANISHING HALF. No spoiler tag necessary.

[Mekiva]

How does this novel have readers think about race in an entirely different way from what Americans are used to? What was your takeaway from it?

[Tricia]

I regards to race, The Vanishing Half, (last months book) Black Like Me, and Isabel Wilkerson's Caste all reaffirm my belief the race is a myth. It cant be definitive if it can be switched so easily. Unfortunately, race and colorism has a centuries long history of having currency in the real world that gives what isn't real actual power.
All 3 works highlight how people are treated differently because of color and that makes those living in the skill of the "lower caste" want to be something they can never really be. The difference in treatment should not exist.

[Mekiva]

It connected the issue of racism for survival for me, and that’s where the colorism takes form. Stella initially makes the decision to pass because she and Desiree had hit rock bottom. She did it so they could survive, to provide the basic necessities to maintain life. Stella, I feel, saw it that bleak since she could not return to Mallard. This view of race remained a life or death extremist existence ruled her even after she obtained the freedoms and privilege associated with whiteness in America. As a black person in America, I know how race is intricately tied to basic survival. The book made me think about how white Americans connect race to their survival. It started as a need for Stella. I wonder if a 2021 Stella feels a need to pass and would someone who could pass choose to do so. The novel highlights how colorism plays a role in American society, particularly within minority groups, that I don’t think the majority of people are fully aware and how this perpetuates America’s race problems. Remember when Stella dyed her hair right before returning home and thought about Desiree doing the same? As if that was of importance with all that Desiree was managing at that time. Did she forget how poor they were, or did she think their circumstances had changed?

[Mekiva]

ColumbusReads wrote: "Here is where you can discuss the entirety of THE VANISHING HALF. No spoiler tag necessary."

Should we continue our discussion of the novel as a whole here or in the other discussion thread?

[Tricia]

We can move to the other thread. Columbus opened it. As far as survival, I think the telling thing is the difference in the quality of life for the sisters after the fork in the road when Stella passed. How did thier lives end up? Who's life was easier?

[Andi]

One of the parts I found most interesting was how Kennedy ended up disappointing Stella with her life choices after having been given so many advantages, including being white, while Jude worked her way into a prestigious career while maintaining a loving long-term relationship - things that Stella had hoped for Kennedy. If she could go back and do it again, I wonder if Stella would make the same choices, if she feels it was worth it.

I also really liked the parallel arc of Reese - passing in a different sense by living as his true self versus Stella living a lie.

And lots of characters vanishing from each others’ lives in various ways - the twins from their mother and each other, Jude’s father, Reese’s family, and of course the town of Mallard itself.

[DeannaReadsandSleeps]

Andi wrote: "One of the parts I found most interesting was how Kennedy ended up disappointing Stella with her life choices after having been given so many advantages, including being white, while Jude worked he..."

I think if given the choice, Stella would do it all over again, because at the end when she finally had that tiny reunion, where she was the most secure she'd ever been (though still at risk in a few ways), she still chose her lie over everything. That's of course simplifying it a little because if nothing else, this book definitely showed us the complications of passing, but she could have tried to make it work and didn't.

Sad stuff.

[Mekiva]

Andi wrote: "One of the parts I found most interesting was how Kennedy ended up disappointing Stella with her life choices after having been given so many advantages, including being white, while Jude worked he..."

I never even noticed that until you pointed it out here--the daughters. It's striking because even with all the advantages Kennedy was given, she didn't live up to her mother's expectations of her. I get the sense that Stella's choices were more for her benefit with Kennedy being a secondary benefactor of them. She definitely feels like she made the right choice in passing as she continues to make that choice even after her secret is out.