They both went on to have children, Desiree with a black man and Stella with a white man. All I have to do is think of my grandma, who used to pretend she was white all the time in the 40’s and 50’s, that would work too.ĭesiree decided to live her life in her truth as black woman while Stella did the opposite and pretended to be white. Think of Mariah Carey if that helps you understand how a black woman can look white. They are African American women who can easily pass for white women. The Vanishing Half is centered around identical twin sisters Desiree and Stella. I can tell you from first hand knowledge as a dark skinned black woman, it’s real and it’s vicious. It’s too taboo to talk about or better yet, even acknowledge exists. Colorism is a word that issue so well hidden that even our dictionaries don’t recognize it.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet dives into one the of African American community’s best kept secret – colorism. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters’ storylines intersect? Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. I can promise you this review is going to be kept very, very pretty. The way she weaved The Vanishing Half together is nothing but spectacular.

Brit Bennett really out did herself with this one. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is easily one of the best reads of 2020.

The vanishing half goodreads