A really unusual thought provoking read, with characters you really believe in and spanning decades across American history. Reading on kindle I was surprised when I came to the end as I could have kept reading for hours more.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for allowing me the opportunity to read The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett.

'A body could be labeled but a person couldn't, and the difference between the two depended on that muscle in your chest'

Brit Bennett has written such a thought provoking story. It is full bodied, emotional and revealing.

Racial identity and relationships are at the core of this novel. Intertwined with these core aspects is generations, American history, class, self hatred, identity, prejudice and ultimately - fate.

Brits character development is also superb. Desiree and Stella may be twins and forever connected but their diversity is so apparent due to Brits writing.

This story has a lasting influence and is essential reading. I think this is going to be a much discussed novel of 2020.

4.5 rounded down

I thoroughly enjoyed Brit Bennett’s debut novel The Mothers, so was excited to get an advance copy of The Vanishing Half. And this doesn’t disappoint, in fact it feels like a much more accomplished novel in many ways.

The Vignes twins are born in the small town of Mallard in the 1950s and decide to run away together aged sixteen to New Orleans to escape the oppressive small town environment for bigger and better things. Several years later one sister returns to Mallard with her daughter in tow, the other doesn’t. The sisters lead quite different lives, and both raise daughters who in turn also have very different upbringings and experiences. Then one day, their lives converge once again.

Bennett tackles a lot of themes here - gender identity, race, racism, family and specifically mother/daughter relationships. I expect most readers will have a soft spot for one certain side of the family, but the strength of this story rests in the issues raised in the contrasts between the two Vignes sisters’ lives and the different paths they follow through life, with the associated consequences of their decisions, and also the impact this has on their individual daughters.

Ambitious in scope and spanning a number of decades this story had the potential to get muddled in a lesser author’s hands, but this novel is nothing but a success. I hope to see it on a number of prize longlists later this year and can’t wait to read what Bennett writes next.

Very well written literary drama with interesting and well-developed characters and storyline.
I really enjoyed my time and was hooked on the book all the time.

Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

I loved this. A nuanced and fascinating book that took us from the 1950s to the 90s, hinging around the lives of twins who leave their small Louisiana town of Mallard to break free from the restrictions imposed there. A black town where light skin is prized, one twin defies convention by marryng a dark man, and the other ends up passing for white. The story goes back and forward in time to explain the lives of their mother and their children, who of course lead vastly different lives. With a light touch, the story obviously talks about privilege and racism, but more generally about identity and opportunity. I couldn't wait to read on and I thoroughly enjoyed every stand of the book.

The Vanishing Half delves into identity - does colour, or sex, define you? Or is that just the given, and you can identify and become whoever you choose?

The book spans 30-40 years - following the lives of two young twins living in Jim Crow southern states, where being black means you can be killed without retribution. And as the title says, one of those twins decides it's time to move on.

Well written, with believable characters and good voices, this is an excellent novel.

Perhaps this book came to me in the wrong moment, in an uncertain time but I failed to get into it at all. I am a huge fan of Brit Bennet, having heard her talk, and praising her debut novel “The Mothers “ever since I read it 3 years ago. I have also recently read Daisy Johnsons “Sisters” which I felt dealt with siblings better. For whatever reason I did not connect and whilst I finished it, I feel cruel to mark or rate it as it would be an injustice. It is worth noting I read this book at a slightly traumatic time in my life so I feel this defiantly a case of me not you as the author is terrific, and I was still able to highlight streams of profound writing.

Original, engaging and impactful. A very unusual storyline that gripped from the beginning. Following the lives of identical twin sister across different race, family and career lines, and then seamlessly onto the next generation.
Not predictable at any stage. Highly recommended, excellent read.

Okay, I’m going to be honest and say that this will be one of those books that I will cherish forever! Woah...there I said it.🤩
It’s a book that challenges and probes into difficult and important issues with such beauty and emotion that you can’t help but be swept up in its brilliance. I loved it!

The story focuses on twins Stella and Desiree who grow up in a small black community in the Deep South, where people believe that having lighter skin means a better life. They run away together at sixteen to New Orleans and part ways. The story follows each sisters journey through the years and you see how their choices in life have taken them on very different paths. Very different! It’s told from the perspectives of the sisters as well as their daughters Kennedy and Jude, and I felt this gave shape and substance to the plot. Racial identity is at the centre of this book, it ripples through the generations and narratives, from 1950 to 1990s and there are lots of twists to the tale. It certainly hones in on racism but also community, class, sexual identity, abuse, how the past shapes our future desires and examines relationships in every form. It’s very well written with intriguing characters and a storyline that captivated me from the start. I couldn’t put it down! I enjoyed every moment of reading this book and when it finished I genuinely felt sad that it had to come to an end.😭

THE VANISHING HALF is wise, powerful and thought provoking; an incredible book to get lost in. It has been selected as one of the Spring titles for #R2Bookclub with Jo Whiley. Not surprised at all folks.

I LOVED IT SO READ IT! 🙏

A poignant story of how racism can affect lives in the 60s and 70s in America.

This story revolves around identical twins, Stella and Desiree Vignes, living in a tiny town in America and how their lives go on totally different paths when they run away from home.

The small town of Mallard is unusual in that some of the coloured people are so pale that it is impossible to distinguish them from a white person. In this day and age this should make no difference to anyone. However, in the 1960s in America racial prejudice was rife and this book is a brilliant example of how this can affect people’s lives.

Stella has always yearned for the prestige and benefits being a white person can bring and when she gets a job as a secretary by pretending to be white and falls in love with her boss, Blake, she is determined that no one will ever know her origins. She marries Blake, has a daughter, Kennedy, who is blond with violet eyes and they are happily living in Los Angeles. In order to pursue her dream, she had left her twin in New Orleans without a goodbye and with no way of her being traced.

Desiree is totally distraught by the disappearance of her sister as they were almost joined together as identical twins often are and tries desperately to find her. She has also married but to a violent man and with her daughter, Jude, who is black, runs away back to Mallard to live again with her mother.

Ten years later, Jude is a talented athlete and wins a scholarship to UCLA in Los Angeles where quite by chance she discovers Stella and her daughter. We are drawn into the world of both sisters and the cousins and how their lives are so different purely because of the colour or perceived colour of their skin.

This was a fascinating story which I thoroughly enjoyed and it opened my eyes a little more regarding the terrible racism that existed then and sadly, in some cases, still does today. I awarded this book 4 stars purely because I found the ending a little unsatisfactory with some issues left unresolved but it is well worth a read.

Dexter

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review

I loved this book and raced through it. This is a novel about the hallowed bonds between twins and the realities of life as an African American woman during the 20th century. It's a unique take on racial issues and the evolution of racism and inequality in America. Though it touches on some dark themes it is also a very touching tale of the familial bonds that connect us. This is perfect for fans of The Help.

Its prose as restrained as it is lyrical, The Vanishing Half is a profoundly moving novel about identity and belonging, a powerful reminder that race is, after all, only a question of perception: not only how others perceive you, but also how you perceive yourself.

A story that covers three generations of a family. It's a family story which covers times in the Deep South in the 195o's to California in the present day. How upbringing and circumstances from the past influence life in the current time.
Sisters leaving home together at 16, leading very different, separate lives.

What will happen when their own daughters' story lives intersect?

Wow what a book. Beautifully constructed and beautifully written. I was hooked right from the start and i couldn’t put it down .....finished it last night in a power cut by candlelight!!
I’m sure these characters will stay with me for a while.....and I wonder if there willl be a follow up of the next generation?

For me, this book took a while to get going, but about half way through, I really loved it. The chopping back and forth between characters and time frames was interesting as it really allowed the reader to understand each character’s perspectives. I love books like this that really make me think.. naturally, being white, I had no idea of the concept of ‘passing over’ as outlined in this story. It has helped to open my eyes and I look forward to reading more literature such as this.

I asked for a copy of this novel because I remember other people really enjoying Bennett’s first book and, I won’t lie, the cover intrigued me. I am so, so delighted that I requested to read this because this is the first book of 2020 that I have devoured. I loved it.

What I particularly appreciate, especially in light of other reading, is that this is a book that balances beautiful, interesting prose with a genuinely compelling plot and well fleshed characters. The use of shifting time and perspectives throughout kept the novel moving forward and building towards revelation and grace.

It’s a novel about colourism, about families and trauma, and more than anything about love and the self. The love in this book is so tender, so aware of the things people bring of their lives to relationships and the ways this shapes the navigation of those relationships.

It somehow strikes the balance of being a historical novel that feels modern, without feeling ahistorical. It opens up the lives of people who have always existed, but existed in different ways. I think I was most moved by the Jude’s sections, by her yearning to belong and to be loved, but this is also because her narrative helps to bring the different elements together.

I read this book in two sittings after a much more unsatisfactory read (one whose review I have been agonising over) and it was just such a comfort to read a book where the people felt like people. I felt I learned who they were, grew with them, felt their despair and their hunger and their shame. That this characterisation did not sacrifice a convincing and carefully unravelled plot, nor did it detract from mood, completely assured me of Bennett’s skill as a novelist.

Additionally, it is skillful to write about really difficult things with clarity and gentleness. Not gentle as in softening the blow, but being gentle to the characters who are hurt by so much of the world they live in. It explores race not just through the ways in which racism functions to limit and curtail the lives of people of colour, but also the ways that colourism moves within communities. It explores abandonment, shame and abuse, but without ever feeling heavy-handed. That’s a difficult balance to strike, to sit between entertainment and real human consideration.

It’s simply a very good, well-crafted, considered novel: an enjoyable, moving read, with plenty of style and heart. One I will pressing on people when its published!

The story of the Vignes twins contains everything. Secrets, lies, love, loss and lots of really interesting thoughts around identity and finding yourself. I love a book with strong female characters and this books certainly has them. They may not all be characters you like, you may question some of their decisions, but the characters are so vibrant and lifelike. This is an excellent and though provoking book that will stay with you a long time after the final page.

This was a well-rounded book and interesting and well imagine story regarding two sisters and passing. I found it was well thought out in terms of two lives the different women led and it really made you question identity and what it's like to shed your past. However I felt the book lacked something, what we read on the blurb is entirely what happens in the books. There is no twist or something to keep you captivated, it is pretty obvious that at some point we would hear from the missing twin and that she may even return home, so I thought this was pretty weak plot-wise. Even as a story of getting by in the world however you can, I felt it was lacking, it was simply put one twin pretending to be another and getting away with it. I think I would have liked to have heard from Kennedy and her mother, perhaps with a Kennedy having kids and dealing with the repercussions of her mother's choice in this regard. Regardless this was an easy and enjoyable read, but I can't help but think this story could have been great, instead it's just okay.

Although it took me a minute to get into it, I have not been able to stop reading for the past two days. The plot is brilliant and I think it would make a great TV series so I hope someone buys the rights ASAP. The characters are so well developed and consistent, which is something I have not find lately. The main themes are family relationships, race, gender and how hard is to escape our past and sustain lies, especially towards the ones we love. I really recommend this book. The storyline between Jude and Reese was my favourite. Thanks so much for the advance copy!

Although the novel brings us to the brink of the Millennium, The Vanishing Half feels like a mythical tale. Two identical pale twins of African-American heritage live in a town called Mallard in Louisiana. Mallard is a town established and built only for those African-Americans with the fairest of skins. They don’t want anyone darker skinned living in their town or marrying into their families.

The pale twins, Desiree and Stella watch their father being lynched and killed by white men when they are still only very young. This violence, without them realising it, seems to push them in different directions and whilst they flee Mallard together they do it for very different reasons.

They run off to New Orleans where Desiree finds a dark-skinned man who beats her and gives her a child whose skin is so dark it is described as blue black. Stella becomes a secretary by omitting to tick the coloured box on her application form. The twins have such pale skin that Stella just needs to act white to be white.

While Desiree comes back to Mallard, moves back in with her Mama and lives there with her dark daughter whom everyone in Mallard shuns; Stella disappears in more ways than one. She loses her colour and her family and becomes a white girl, a white woman, wife and mother whose daughter is so pale her eyes are almost violet, her hair a shocking natural blonde.

The Vanishing Half is the tale of what happens to these twins and their daughters. It is a compelling exploration of race, identity and opportunity in 20th Century American South.