The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennet a powerful novel that talks about racism in the white world as well as within their own community. It is a beautifully written novel about twin sisters: inseparable as children, move on to live their own separate lives as adults, only to be reunited by their children.
I cannot explain how marvelous and poignant the book is. The Vanishing half is a thought-provoking novel that talks about racism, sexuality, and class hierarchy. It raises a lot of questions and discussions on how and why society is so obsessed with the white color? Although the story takes place in the 1950s and ends up in 1990, the obsession for lighter skin color still exists in our society. I really loved how the book depicted the mania for lighter skin within the community of colored people. Coming from a country of colored people, I can totally agree on the point, that the fixation on lighter skin tone still exists and is somehow intermixed with ‘Beautiful’. I think the lesson to be learned from the book is that we need to first accept our own kind before we want others to accept us as we are.
Apart from the focus on racism, the story also opens about the trans people and their daily struggle during the latter half of the 1900s. The book includes Reese, who is seeking for surgery, and Barry, who turns into Bianca during his performances.
Synopsis
The vanishing half is a book about twin sisters, one shy and intelligent, and the other, a total extrovert and outgoing person. They lived in a small town called Mallard, comprising of light-colored black people obsessed with lighter skin tone, despising the darker colored people of their own kind. Both the girls: Desiree and Stella Vignes, at the age of 16, decided to flee and leave their mother alone.
After being inseparable for so long, they decided to live a different life: Stella as a White woman with a white man and Desiree as a black woman, married to a black man. They would have never thought they would ever set their foot back in Mallard and no matter how much they wanted, they knew they might never cross each other’s path again. But little did they knew, how their fate intertwined when their daughters cross each other’s path and bring Stella to Desiree’s door again.
Writing
I don’t have enough words to explain how gorgeous the book is. I can only say, it took me just 3 nights to complete it. Once I started reading, it was difficult to put down the book. Britt Bennett’s writing style is so smooth that rhythm was developed when I started reading it. I felt I had to put no extra effort while reading.
Characters
All the characters in the vanishing half are well-written.
Starting with the twins at their early teenage, Desiree is an extrovert, who wants excitement and want to try new things in her life. She is a girl who would stand up for herself and her sister. Her sister, Stella, is the exact opposite. She is an introvert with high ambitions and a dream of being in a college. Unlike Desiree, who is an excellent liar, Stella is bad at lying during her teenage years. They lived with their mother Adele Vignes, who is a typical example of the Mallard mindset. (marry a light person and stay forever in the town as it is horrible out there). As the girls grew up, we could see a big shift in their personalities.
Taling about the daughters of Desiree and Stella, they are again the exact opposite of their mother. Desiree’s daughter Jude, just like her aunt Stella, is a more studious, introverted, focused girl with high ambitions. Whereas, Stella’s daughter Kennedy, is as free-spirited as her aunt Desiree in her early years. Both the girls reflect the personalities of the twins but are still unique in their own ways.
Early is Desiree's boyfriend and a hunter hired by Desiree’s husband. He is a colored man and hence disliked by Desiree’s mother at the start. He is a sweet gentleman who stood by Desiree’s side until the very end.
On the other hand, Stella’s husband, a white man, is a rich and honorable man, who supported his wife even through her crazy years. Although white, he never cared much about color and had progressive thinking when compared to his own wife.
Lastly, we have Reese, Jude’s boyfriend. This character is just marvelous within itself. Reese, who used to be Therese, is a struggling trans, who apart from his own struggles, stands by Jude’s side whenever she needs him. I think he is a sweet guy and I just loved his character.
Plot
The story starts with a small-town Mallard, and the daily lifestyle of people in Mallard. The twin sisters are the generation of the founder of Mallard. Yet they are forced to live a poor life after their dad was brutally murdered by the white men. The twins, hidden in the wardrobe, saw the murder with their own eyes. This had a great impact on their mind (Stella more impacted than Desiree). Being poor and working at a white man’s house was horrible for both Desiree and Stella, Desiree unable to enjoy her freedom and live an exciting city life, and Stella, unable to study as they couldn’t afford to leave their job. So, they both decided to run.
The first half mostly talks about Desiree’s life after she left Mallard. How she managed her life without Stella (her other half) and how she got married to a black guy. It talks about her struggles in her married life and what path she chooses later.
Then we move on to the struggles of Desiree’s daughter Jude. As she is the only black girl in Mallard, she is depicted as an introvert. Although she is like Stella, there is one good exception to her personality: She does not hate herself.
I loved the way Bennett divided the storyline, into first explaining the life of Desiree and her daughter and later on she focused on the life on Stella and her daughter, including a bit of their life intersecting with one another in-between.
For most of the book, I pitied Stella but really started to hate her in the end. Her obsession with her lies and secrets are reflected in her daughter’s personality. She is constantly rebellious and annoyed with her stubborn mother.
The storyline around Reese is fascinating as well. He struggles with his own identity, and acceptance within himself.
All the characters, though interlinked, have a battle they are fighting alone within themselves. The Vanishing Half nicely portrays the heartache, the pain, and the struggles of these characters.
The ending of the book is quite different and realistic. They somewhat end up on cordial terms and yet resume their life as is. The final plot was unexpected and yet the perfect ending to the life of the Vignes sisters.
Conclusion
The Vanishing half is a thought-provoking novel about race, sexual identity, class hierarchy in the society. It is a must-read as it brings up a lot of emotions and leaves you wanting more.
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