The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is about Desiree and Stella, light-skinned “colored” twins, who choose to handle their racial heritage differently. Stella creates an identity and life in which she passes herself off as White, abandoning, hiding and denying her family heritage, marrying a White man, having a blond-haired daughter, and living in a racially segregated White neighborhood in L.A. Desiree identifies as Black, has a dark-skinned daughter fathered by dark Black man, and embraces her identity as Black in the Black community in Louisiana where she was born. The plot revolves around Stella’s “disappearance” from her family and her efforts to conceal her African-American heritage. Added to the mix are supporting characters who are transgender or otherwise non-binary. The story is filled with lots of scenes where boundaries and social constructs about race and gender are explored. Especially poignant is when Stella finds her blond-haired daughter playing with a Black child and punishes her for “playing with N*****s”
The story will make you both feel and think. Here’s what Kirkus Reviews says:
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/brit-bennett/the-vanishing-half-bennett/
