Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - The Vanishing Half

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The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

7 reviews

leahlovesloslibros's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The Vanishing Half follows twin sisters, one of whom is darker black and one of whom is lighter black. Colorism is a topic that I haven't read much about, but it was quite interesting to read about that in this story. Additionally, there was a lot of good social commentary, especially surrounding the gay and trans communities. Overall The Vanishing Half was a good story but it wasn't compelling enough that I couldn't put it down. It was mostly curiosity in the ending that kept me coming back to it.

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lahars_little_library's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book is wonderfully written. I loved the exploration of race and identity and hate that I was sick on the night of my book group. I know it would have I spired some great discussions. Only 2 things lowered my rating of this book. I don't tend to enjoy generational novels and prefer having one strong main character throughout the book. The Vanishing Half focused on four women in one family. That's just not my preference. Secondly, there were some strong content triggers for me in this book. I should have looked up the content warnings ahead of time. If neither of these things bother you or is truly a gripping story.

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midnightmarauder's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Even though The Vanishing Half is a work of fiction, a lot of the subject matter can overlap into issues many of us still face today: racism/colorism/featurism, identity issues, the overwhelming desire to become someone other than yourself, etc. This book covers in all in just under 400 pages.

Some of the things I loved include the insertion of a trans man in a time period where they didn't really exist, nor are they mentioned often in historical fiction (Reese quickly became one of my favorite characters in the story; he and Jude's love story was a beautiful thing to watch unfold), how colorism and racism can lead to such big consequences amongst the black community, and the nonlinear writing structure; a style that left me staying up, just to see what would happen next.

Some things I would've liked to know more about include Stella, Kennedy, and Blake's fates. Did Stella and Kennedy

go to Adele's funeral? I know that Jude was the one to call Kennedy and tell her that she died, but she wasn't mentioned ever again.

As for Stella,

she is last seen leaving Mallard after placing her wedding ring into Early's palm and telling him to "take care of her Mama." There is a part afterwards that shows Blake brushing off Stella's missing ring and telling her that he's going to replace it, but, that's all. Did they choose not to call Stella, or did Stella simply go back to make herself feel a little better for leaving her family, relished in their grief, only to disappear again and cut off all contact like before?

Lastly, Blake:

Did Stella ever come clean about her past, or did she come home and act as though nothing had happened? She couldn't leave behind the life that she had built for herself—the money, the marriage, the privilege—for a family she had known much longer than Blake. No, ma'am.

All in all, this book was one that was very hard to put down. All I can really say is wow. Brit Bennet is a marvelous writer, and I'm looking forward to reading more of her work.

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