The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Edelweiss 

June 2, 2020

Fiction, read now 8/9/20, contemporary women, digital

352 pages

Riverhead Books

Penguin Random House

9/12-9/16

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an unbiased review.

The Vignes twins run away in 1954, in an orchestrated plan during the towns Founder's Day Picnic. Ironically, Alphose Decuir was celebrated as the founder of Mallard and happens to be an ancestor of their mother, Adele Decuir Vignes who married Leon Vignes. They always lived in the small ambiguous town with mostly light skinned black people. Desiree and Stella Vignes plot their escape from the small town since their mother had pulled them from school in 10th grade to work with her cleaning the homes of white people. The 16 year old girls want to experience more than their segregated town allowed.

They settle in New Orleans until Stella abandons Desiree when she realizes that her light skin allows her to blend inconspicuously as a white woman. Stella attains success and marries a wealthy white man keeping her past a secret. She struggles with the lies of omission which propelled her life of comfort and acceptance. As Confucius has said, "Wherever you, there you are." Stella is not prepared for the moment when she is forced to accept the authenticity of her past and the family she left behind.

Meanwhile, Desiree leaves New Orleans for Washington, DC where she finds work and love with a black attorney. Conversely, Desiree marries a dark black man which results in a different life experience for her given her light skin. She eventually flees and heads home to Mallard to protect her and her daughter from her abusive husband. Desiree felt defeated as she is seen walking on Partridge Road with a suitcase holding the hand of a young 8 year old black girl, her daughter Jude. They are welcomed home always wondering whatever became of Stella.

A twist of fate eventually upends Stella's idyllic life to confront the life she left behind. Is it possible to find your authentic self after years of living a lie? Do you come to the aide of your biological family when they need you even if you have to risk your future? How can you come to terms with the decisions and consequences you have made in life? Themes explode with family, courage, loyalty, acceptance and love.



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