The Vanishing Half: A Must Read Book
“There were many ways to be alienated from someone, few to actually belong.”
This book gives definition to my meaning of intricate prose. Smart, absorbing, and absolutely brilliant characterisation.
The story begins with Desiree returning to her hometown with her daughter. From there the story feels like unspooling thread, addictive and so easy to get lost into without any care of the world.
Desiree is a twin, a 'white-passing' twin, her sister Stella and her were inseparable while growing up. But circumstances or I should say life had different plans for them. At sixteen, the twins are finally able to flee their town which they despised. More than a decade later, Desiree returns without Stella but with a black daughter. Stella on the other hand tries to run away from her heritage but her 'white' daughter cannot grasp the fact that her mother doesn't have a history. The twin's daughters put in their best efforts to find the truth about their family and what went wrong all those years back.
Set against the backdrop of 1960s in America, when the Civil Rights movement were at an all time high, this book provides for an engrossing read. To simply call it a family saga would be confining it in a box.
It is a story about love, loss, desire, identity and family. Bennet has weaved a multi-generational story. It has the spice of mystery, the heart-breaking truth of the American civil rights movement, and the love of family.
I absolutely recommend this book, closing it on another favourite quote of mine from this book:
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