What a remarkable book this was! Story about two twins who grew up in a black community in a small town in Louisiana, however decide to escape their past and build their life anew. Until one day, one of the sisters, Stella, decides to make her own way. They are split up and end up having opposite lives. Stella ends up living her life as a white woman while keeping her past a secret from her whole family. While the other sister, Desiree, moves back to the small town to live with her mother and work in a small diner. The story continues to talk about the respective sisters’s daughters, who end up meeting each other.

I found this book a captivating, happy, sad, heartbreaking..so I think I had all the feels. Until the end I still was struggling to understand Stella’s decisions and felt incredibly saddened that she needed to make these. Brit Bennett is a masterful storyteller. She was able to cover decades, different stories and characters in a way which was easy to follow for the reader and not easy to put down! It was incredible how she intertwined race into the story and how it affects individual lives.

Definitely one of the top books of the year for me and it will remain with me for a long time.

4.5 stars
Set in Mallard, Louisianna 1960's this is the story of identical twins, light skinned and African American. At sixteen they decide to run away and then one suddenly flee's splitting them up and forcing them on to lead singular but what become very different lives. Stella passes as a white woman & marries a white man, she enjoys the benefits of being a white person in LA and is determined that no one will ever find out the truth. Whilst Desiree stays true to her roots but marries a much darker man. Desiree is scared and flee's her abusive relationship to return home to her Mother and goes on to struggle financially whilst Stella is idolised and lives the life of the luxury.
Desiree constantly thinks about her sister whilst Stella doesn't seem to look back. Both have daughters whose paths eventually cross and they unravel a shocking story of how life can be so different because of the colour/perceived colour of your skin.
A very powerful thought provoking story of racism, class, love, identity, selfishness, acceptance, family and sexuality. It explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins which is always fascinating .
This book had me captivated from the beginning and didn't let me go until the end, I read nearly the whole book in one day. The characterisation was brilliant and the setting so atmospheric. For me personally the ending fell a bit flat for what was such a great story, I expected more which is only why this didn't get the full 5 stars.
A book I kept thinking about long after I had put it down. Very well written, I would highly recommend it.
My thanks go to the author, publisher and Netgalley in providing this arc in return for a honest review.

I’ve found another 5 star book! The Vanishing Half is a story about twin sisters who both run away at sixteen, before one twin runs from the other and their lives begin to diverge in very different directions – questioning family, identity and race.

I love family stories, especially centring siblings and this story was amazing. The characters were complex and felt whole, making choices that were often painful but made sense and made you feel along with the sisters. The story dealt with racism and colourism in way I had never had to think about before and raised questions in me that I had never thought of. I love books that make you think, reflect or learn along with the characters and Bennett did that so perfectly. It never felt heavy handed, the story presented complications, nuance and very real conversations on family and racial identity.

During the book I felt so attached to the sisters and their daughters that every time there was a POV change, or time jump for the first page I wished I could go back to the previous character but then I was drawn in again and again and just had to keep reading. The way the book is broken up into sections worked really well for me, and the way the time skipped back and forth always made sense and deepened and emphasised other parts of the plot. The entire book and the choices made within it felt purposeful and I adored it. Out today from Little Brown UK

Really excellent read with a massive scope and characters that prove nuanced, fascinating and strong throughout, I love the central idea of the sisters on divergent paths and the uneasy and unconventional family relationships that are explored. Has some genuinely original and hugely imaginative elements to really enjoy.

The Vanishing Half caught my attention a few weeks ago after reading some raving reviews and I requested it from Netgalley immediately. Not having read Brit Bennett’s previous book, I went in with no expectation but man, does this book live up to it’s high praise

Telling the stories of twin sisters, Stella and Desiree Vignes, brought up in a small town in 1960’s America where unusually, the community is almost entirely made up of light skinned black people. When the twins run away from their small town, and eventually separate, one will end up returning to the place she tried to escape while the other will pass herself off as white, living a life that otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to access but also living a lie

Wow. This book is amazing. There’s just so much to think about as it takes on issues of race, identity, gender, prejudice, belonging and so much more. It’s timely, insightful and thought provoking. The comparisons between the two sisters lives, and that of their daughters, are both shocking and heartbreaking

Brit Bennett’s writing is gorgeous. I couldn’t put this book down, becoming fully invested in not just Desiree and Stella’s lives, but their daughters Jude and Kennedy, two completely different girls who both feel the ripples of their mother’s choices. I read it over a couple of days and when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it and desperate to return. I can’t recommend this beautiful book enough, and I’ll certainly be picking up Brit’s previous book as soon as I can. A must read

THE VANISHING HALF is the story of the Vignes sisters - Stella and Desiree - identical twins from a small, Southern community exclusively inhabited by light-skinned Black people obsessed with their aesthetic proximity to whiteness. When the twins run away aged 16, they eventually split, with one disappearing to pass as white.

When I first read the premise of THE VANISHING HALF, my mind immediately raced to Clare and Irene of Nella Larsen's classic, PASSING. But while Larsen's Clare vivaciously flirts with the danger of passing, choosing the most racist white man she can find to confirm her facade of whiteness, Stella is bound by a terror of discovery that stains every strand of the fabric of the identity she assumes, prohibiting her from truly living.

Here, Bennet explores masquerade and hypocrisy, secrecy and betrayal, communal duty and individual freedom. Passing is survival but it's also rejection, a fact made all the more poignant when seen through the experience of twins. What's interesting here is that Bennett doesn't dwell solely on the fallacy of racial categorisation but instead uses the concept of passing and the set-up of the odd little town from which the twins hail (and to which one returns) to unfold a mediation on colorism.

With achingly poetic prose, Bennett's narrative takes us from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, painting transformations of deception and transitions of truly becoming (shout out to Reese). I loved the queer voices that were woven into this story, not as conflicts but matter-of-factly as part of the wider picture of Blackness Bennett paints.

Brit Bennett said YOU WILL WAIT FOR THIS BOOK BUT WHEN IT COMES YOU WILL LIVE! It's melodic, it's messy and it will thrive on discussion so I'm desperate to know everyone's thoughts! 👀☕

There were times I found this hard to read and the coincidences seemed to multiply, but the nuance and complexity kept me turning pages.

Bennett is so good at showing us a situation and making us feel a certain way, and then flipping it all on its head and making us reconsider.

There were so many great lines. There were many sad moments, but ultimately, I found this novel one of hope, and we can all use a little hope right now.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to read Brit Bennett’s second novel, The Vanishing Half, despite being underwhelmed by her debut, The Mothers, because I found the synopsis so intriguing. The Vanishing Half is about identical twin sisters Desiree and Stella, born into Mallard, a Louisiana town so small that it doesn’t feature on maps, and is distinguished by having an all-black population who pride themselves on having extremely light skin. Both sisters flee Mallard in adolescence for a more promising life in New Orleans, but Desiree returns in early adulthood with her small and ‘dark’ daughter, Jude, in tow, while Stella disappears into an entirely different life, passing as white, marrying a white man, and having her own daughter, Kennedy. Bennett arguably spends too much time setting this all up in the first quarter of the novel, which is pretty slow, but once it takes off, The Vanishing Half has some very interesting things to say about race. This is brought home most vividly in the chapters written from Stella’s point of view where she negotiates a friendship with a new black neighbour in her all-white neighbourhood; having accepted the social and economic privileges bestowed upon her by adopting a white identity, she now realises painfully how this excludes her from the friendship and trust of black women.

Similarly, when the two cousins eventually and inevitably meet, they have their own understandings of what race is and means: Kennedy declares that she isn’t black, while Jude insists that Kennedy is. Both cousins’ interpretations seem rational: Kennedy has been brought up as a white woman, with access to everything that would have been denied to her were she racialised as black, but at the same time, her grandfather was still lynched by white racists, and her mother’s decision has left her estranged from her own family history. Bennett’s aim is not to adjudicate this argument, but to draw attention to how constructed and yet how real the category of race is. Jude’s long-term relationship with a trans man, Reese, seems to be designed to explore this theme further, but here I felt the novel fell short: Bennett doesn’t say enough about Reese’s life or how he understands his identity for this thread to take off. Nevertheless, this is a strong second novel that takes Bennett’s highly readable writing to the next level. 3.5 stars.

Excellently written - what and introduction I've had to Brit Bennet!! I've become an instant fan.
The characters are well developed, the story lines are well thought out - this is a gripping, slow-burning novel which challenges racism and self-hatred but also gender and identity. Brit is a master who is not afraid to explore the hard questions and have the difficult conversations.

As a light skinned, passing biracial woman myself - Desiree and Stella felt familiar. I became attached to this story and to the character which Brit so carefully created. The POV switched so seamlessly, the flow through the book was not disturbed.

Everyone should read this book a couple of times!

I am grateful to NetGalley for the chance to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Brilliant. An interesting, memorable story. Stella and Desiree are twins who lead totally different lives. This is an intriguing and emotional read which kept me turning the page the whole way through.. I would definitely recommend this book. It is thought provoking and very current.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

The Vanishing Half tells the story of twin girls, born into a small black community in a Louisiana village in 1960s America. During the town's Founder's Day celebrations, the two girls disappear under the cover of night, arriving in New Orleans to seek a life of new opportunities. When one of the sisters passes as a white women, the twins lives separate into two entirely disparate paths – one of obligation, oppression and duty as a mother and carer, contracted with one of wealth and security through white privilege, but at what cost?

Themes in this book are many and varied, each treated with dutiful care and attention. Identity takes centre stage in a number of forms. 'Passing' and the subsequent discourse on race takes the spotlight as the twin girls and their daughters explore the importance and impact of their skin colour in the trajectories of their own lives. Black LGBTQ+ experiences are also given a voice, as are reflections on sisterhood and motherhood.

Bennett has crafted a family saga which is rich in narrative, profundity and impact. Each strand of story is given due exploration, delicately and deftly dismantling the lives and experiences of a family who's choices take them on journeys covering a multitude of experiences - all of which are in some way impacted, negatively or positively, by the colour of their skin. US social history and its injustices are laid bare, but the topic is handled with exceptional sensitivity and nuance. The interrogation of race - its purpose, its power, and its illusions - is thoughtprovoking and powerful, as is its fresh commentary on white privilige through the eyes and experiences of a black woman. We watch as Stella clings vehemently, sometimes shockingly, to what she owns, scared to lose that which she has earned only by being white.

My only minor disappointment with this book is that the ending felt rushed and a little unsatisfying in its conclusion to its many narratives streams. While I didn't need a neat or 'nice' ending, it somehow felt too abrupt and incomplete. That's not to say that I wasn't struck with emotion as the epic tale reached its end.

The Vanishing Half is a sensational and affecting story touching on many important issues and injustices still afflicting the US, and the greater world, today. Its power extends beyond its exceptional socio-cultural commentary, being a many-layered novel that also speaks more broadly on feelings of acceptance, identity and family crafted with a beautiful and enticing prose.

Last year I read The Mothers by Brit Bennett and completely fell in love with her writing. It was so exciting to hear that she had a second book coming out, and I am very grateful that I was able to read an advanced review copy from NetGalley.

The Vanishing Half is a multi-generational story told over a 40-year period about identical twins Desiree and Stella Vignes, who are so close they seem two halves of the same person. They grow up in a small Black community in Mallard, Louisiana, and at 16 runaway to New Orleans. More than 10 years later, Desiree returns to live in Mallard with her Black daughter. Stella had mysteriously disappeared while they were living in New Orleans, and now secretly passes for white, while hiding her past and true identify from her white husband and daughter. Though there lives have taken completely different paths, their stories remain intertwined.

In The Vanishing Half, Bennett gently and lovingly weaves a tale that discusses so many relevant issues including race and skin color, gender, and trauma, and how all of these and the events of the past shape a person. A thread that stood out to me was the overall discussion of identity, how we feel about our own identity versus how other people identify us, and what forms and influences our identity.

For example, the juxtaposition of Stella, who chooses to pass as white, and Reese, a trans male character. Stella takes on an identity because it feels safer to her, but also causes her to live in fear of discovery and doesn't feel true to herself, and also means she has to give up people she loves. For Reese, transitioning is about becoming himself. He says at one point that he was always him. What he changed was how he expressed himself and his outer identity in a way that was true to him.

The Vanishing Half is also extremely relevant to what is happening in the world right now. It takes a very compassionate look at the effects of racism, as well as colorism. Desiree's daughter, Jude, not only deals with racism, she is also bullied as a child in her hometown because of her dark skin. It causes her to have ongoing issues with feeling comfortable and confident in her own identity. The story also provides and excellent illustration of white privilege in play with Stella, her husband, and child.

Basically, there is just so much to this book, it is so layered and delicately woven, wish so much compassion. Even with Stella, who is not completely likable, she's still written as a sympathetic character.

Something I love about Bennett's writing, and it's true of both The Mothers and The Vanishing Half, is that is so filled with love. The Vanishing Half is exquisitely written with an interesting story and characters that are easy to get invested in.

Note: As a white woman there may have been some nuances that I missed. I'd very much encourage reading reviews and feedback from Black reviewers.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

This is an exceptional novel. The story of twins, Stella and Desiree who grow up in Mallard, home to a black community in the American South where lighter skin is idealize and coveted.

Stella and Desiree long to leave Mallard and together they set out on their quest for freedom, but ultimately choosing diverging paths. Desiree eventually heads back to Mallard with a daughter whose skin is as black as coal. Stella, light skinned enough to pass for white goes on to live a life full of the opportunities that come with white privilege.

The book flits across time frames spanning 30 years and does so effortlessly. It moves between characters and narratives as easily as turning your head. Brit Bennett masterfully weaves the strands together, painting the family portrait and bringing the whole picture into focus.

This is a beautiful and heartfelt book that deals with important issues. Issues of: identity, race, colourism, motherhood, sisterhood, sexuality, belonging as well as including a narrative focusing on transgender and LGBTQ+.

Brit Bennett has created a brilliant piece of storytelling that is emotional and insightful. An absolute must read!

Published in the UK on 11/06/2020. Thanks to @netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for my eARC.

What a book this is! Its such a captivating story- so interesting, so heartbreaking, so educating and so all consuming.

Set in Mallard, a small Townsville, not too far from New Orleans, where it’s founder established this town for ‘men like him, who would never be accepted as white, but refused to be treated like Negroes’.
Desiree and Stella Vignes are twin ‘light-skinned’ beautiful girls, descendants from the founder, living with their hardworking mother, but having seen a terrible incident when they were young, know however they look, they will always be seen as inferior to white people around them.
Unexpectedly, the twins decide to leave, looking for a better way of life and telling no one. What ensues is a story, where two different paths are taken- one decides to live a life as passing for white and the other refuses to, the repercussions of both choices, not only affecting them but also their offspring.

I have to say, I loved this book. It’s written so well and I learned from it how hard it must be to try and live a life that is not your own. Each of the characters involved has to deal with issues that are so relevant today, even though parts of this books are set from the 1950s onwards. White society and prejudice has made lives for others unbearable and yet strength is throughout every inch of this novel. Each character bares their own cross and I loved every word of this author’s writing.
A really captivating novel and so worth the read.

It’s not often that a book renders me speechless. But book lovers, here we have it: a book that moved me SO much that I have struggled to put into words just how much I loved it. Nothing seems “enough” to do it justice. There just aren’t enough superlatives.
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Bennett tells us the story of twins; Stella and Desiree who hail from a tiny town in Louisiana, which is of no bearing, EXCEPT that it is inhabited primarily by those who pride themselves for being light-skinned black people. So light skinned, in fact, that they could pass as being white; something which is of strong consequence in this tale.
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Written in achingly beautiful prose that will undoubtedly win prizes, this astonishing, multilayered, novel is so detailed and exquisitely crafted that it was easy to be totally lost in it for hours at a time. Bennett’s evocative writing style conjures a whole raft of emotions ranging from grief to surprise and she deftly describes to us what happens when your life might unravel because it is based on deceit.
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Bennett bombards us with a number of themes, primarily those to do with identity and reinvention and questioning who you are and the importance of where you’re from. Her effortless storytelling spans almost five whole decades of a family’s existence and through it, she carefully yet critically examines the relationships between mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, and the bond between sisters.
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Bennett tackles some hard hitting and tough scenes and unapologetically lays bare the uncomfortable truth of white privilege, as well as talking of being given “whiteness” as a gift. Yet through this novel she also gives us so much more; it is a story of hope in the face of despair and survival when up against change.
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Mesmerising and captivating, and providing SO MUCH for us to consider and contemplate, The Vanishing Half is crucial reading and I urge everyone to buy it.
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The Vanishing Half centres around Desiree and Stella, biracial twins who leave their town without saying goodbye to anyone. 10 years later, Desiree returns with a child. Stella doesn't. Stella left Desiree while they were away to create a new life. A new life where she is white, not black. She marries a white man who doesn't know that she is also black and they have a child who grows up believing herself to be fully white.

The book takes place between the 1960s and runs through the 1980s. Race and identity are the underlying themes that run through it but also covered are fear, LGBQT issues and childhood trauma. Although the plot moves along well, there is also a good amount of character development too due to the book spanning across two decades. It needs to be read slowly in order to appreciate the beauty and tragedy of the women's lives.

It's a book that will stay with me for a long time. Not just because of current events but because even though part of me could not understand Stella's choices, part of me could. And I wonder if I was in her position during that period of time, would I have done the same thing? In her eyes she had the chance to live a better life and she took it. But it cost her everything. Can you imagine living a lie? A lie that keeps you on edge everytime you meet someone because you are scared it's written all over your face? A lie that you can't share with the person you share a bed with at night because you're scared of losing everything? Those of you who are twins, can you imagine living years and years without knowing where your other half is or if they are even still alive? It's a lot.

I think this book would be a perfect buddy read or book club pick as there is so much to discuss and I only wish I had read it with someone as I needed to unpack it with someone.

I recently read Brit Bennett’s The Mothers and absolutely loved it so I was really excited to read this.

The Vanishing Half starts with the story of twin sisters who disappear from a small town in Louisiana when they are 16. Desiree, the more wilful sister, returns years later with her daughter, Jude, but her sister Stella starts a new life for herself as a white woman.

I love a book with multiple perspectives and I particularly enjoyed the perspectives and timelines of Stella and Desiree’s daughters. The book uses multiple perspectives and multiple time periods in a really interesting way, jumping back and forth between them.

This book is a fascinating exploration of race, and while between the 60s and 90s, much of what it explores is just as relevant today, especially now.

I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait to read whatever Brit Bennett writes next. One of my new favourite writers for sure.

Just finished this amazing book!
This feels particularly relevant at the moment but this story is relevant always. It tells the story of Desiree and Stella...twins growing up in a small town they are desperate to leave. They manage to escape at 16 and their lives take very different turns.
It’s a brilliant story and the themes are definitely thought provoking. I will be making sure everyone I know reads it!

I devoured The Vanishing Half. A gripping, elegantly-plotted tale about two sisters, who escape their small-town Louisiana upbringing but choose very different paths. Ten years later, Desiree finds herself back in her home town with her black daughter, on the run from a violent husband. Stella, meanwhile, is passing as white, married to a wealthy banker who knows nothing about her background. When their daughters meet in LA in a chance encounter, the story of Stella's disappearance comes to light, and it is through the younger generation that the sisters are given a chance to reconcile. The novel moves through the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, convincingly charting the shifting racial politics of the 20th Century. It's also a hugely enjoyably read, which twists and turns, gradually sharing its secrets. Compassionate and generous, with pain shimmering beneath its surface, THE VANISHING HALF is a deeply felt exploration of identity, race, prejudice and belonging. I loved it - easily one of the best things I've read this year.

Desiree and Stella are twins growing up in a small community in Louisiana. Although they are of negro descent, they are pale skinned to the extent that they could easily be mistaken to be white. Stella is studious and reserved whereas Desiree is quite the opposite and can’t wait to break free from small town life. At the age of 16, Desiree persuades Stella to leave with her and escape to New Orleans. Initially, they settle into a new life together which subsequently falls apart when Stella suddenly leaves her sister and cannot be found. Their two stories diverge from this point as they find their own ways through life. The story explores relationships and racism against the backdrop of the twins lives. Both subjects are treated sensitively and thoughtfully in what is an engaging and compelling narrative.