The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
In case you've been living under a rock lately, which in this environment isn't that crazy, then you may have heard of a massive movement known as Black Lives Matter. Essentially it is a movement to push for better rights, representation and justice for African American, Indigenous and other People of Colour (POCs). You can read more about it on their website here but there is heaps of information out to help people better educate themselves about the movement, why its important and how we can support it. Whilst the physical protests are garnering both praise and criticism due to its potential impact on the ongoing global Coronavirus pandemic, there are still plenty of things that we can do from home to help.
One way to do it is to support black and POC owned businesses, creators, artists, etc and to bring greater awareness and diversity to historically white dominating fields.
Topically, Brit Bennett's latest book The Vanishing Half was released in early June and is gaining a huge amount of traction amongst reading circles like Goodreads and Book Tube (which is the book lover's corner of YouTube that I am procrastinating in joining).
The Vanishing Half is the story of the Vignes sisters, identical African American twins from the Louisiana town of Mallard who are 'white passing'. If you don't know, people who are 'white passing' are effectively POCs with pale skin or are white/Caucasian looking to the point where they can be considered to be so. Here's a link to more information on that - I am only 1/4 POC and basically translucent.
The twins, Stella and Desiree, grow up in Mallard during the 1950s with their mother following her father's murder (we don't get all of the details but the ones we do get heavily imply that it was a racially motivated attack). As they get older, both girls begin to dream of life outside of Mallard and that there has to be more to life than what they are exposed to in their small town. Stella dreams of going to university and Desiree, considered the more 'wild' of the two, dreams of adventure in the big city of New Orleans. After escaping the night of a town dance, the two do make their way to New Orleans where they split up and their lives diverge.
Desiree falls in love with a black man and has a daughter whilst Stella, passing as a white woman, marries a white man and has a daughter of her own.
The Vanishing Half follows the girls' lives together and after they part, explores the concept of identify and what it means, and looks at family ties. It was a riveting, sometimes frustrating, read that provided some perspective on what it means to be a POC in the USA and some of the privileges that come with being white.
The things that I enjoyed the most about the book was the exploration into identity that followed Stella, Desiree and their daughters and how different peoples lives can really be. I liked many of the secondary characters like Barry and Early, though I did feel that the story devolved towards the end. There were elements that I did find satisfying and cathartic, but overall I didn't feel that the story had a satisfying enough conclusion. I do, however, feel that that may have been part of the point.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Shayna Small who is a POC herself, which was very appropriate, who gave a very entertaining performance and managed to give each character their own unique voice. Sometimes her portrayals reminded me of Tiana and co in The Princess and the Frog which added an extra layer of enjoyment to the story.
Overall an educational, emotional read that I do recommend picking up and giving a go. It was an interesting story, different to my usual pick, which I'm really glad I went for.
Being a translucent woman in the first world, I understand I have a lot of privilege so finding a new way to learn how to be more supportive, empathetic and knowledgeable of other people's cultures and experiences is always a plus.
If you're keen to check it out, you can get The Vanishing Half online anywhere that books are sold in paperback, hardback, ebook and audio. My (Australian) picks are:
Book Depository:
Amazon:
Booktopia:
Dymocks:
If you love this book, its also worth checking out Brit Bennett's other book The Mothers which also focuses on the African American experience from a different perspective.
Sam xox
Comments
Post a Comment