Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

43 reviews

something_magnetism's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I loved how this book reflects on themes of identity across experiences such as race and gender. It contains nods to historical issues and generational trauma as well. 
I have finished this book and am still thinking about it, noodling if you will, continuing to find (new) meaning…

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol

lpdx's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, Dysphoria, and Classism

Moderate: Homophobia, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Transphobia and Pandemic/Epidemic

mezzoanddolce's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

At first I honestly did not think I'd enjoy this. I got the characters mixed up a lot and didn't know what was going on, but then I got to the last 20% of the book.

Wow. This book is SO. GOOD.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Medical content and Dementia

blymanor's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Sexual content, Abandonment, and Alcohol

mathildem's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

4.5 ⭐️

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story was so well thought out and executed, with a premise unlike any I've read before. I'm excited to read more from Brit Bennett!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Dementia

Minor: Deadnaming, Mental illness, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

abbyb23's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is just such a beautiful book. I didn’t know about the trans rep before starting this book, but it’s so amazingly well done, especially as representation that lets a queer person be more than their identity. Bennett is truly an incredible author.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Transphobia, Medical content, Dementia, and Alcohol

This book uses the n word multiple times, both as a slur and in historical context. (The author is a Black woman). Racism is the central theme and racist actions are described in detail at many points.

lovelybookshelf's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

I read THE VANISHING HALF with my virtual book club, and we had an especially thoughtful, moving discussion about it. This novel explores internalized racism, beauty standards, colorism, and passing. But Bennett also reaches into the complexity of autonomy and independence vs. familial ties and obligations. Sometimes, the path that feels right for one person can deeply hurt others. How do we navigate that? What is the "right" choice? And what influences the decisions we make for our own lives?

There's a trans man side character and...his first appearance included a few instances of deadnaming. Cis authors, you've got to stop doing this—if you'd been listening at all, you'd know this was established *years* ago. Other than that, the rep was quite good and felt accurate for the time period. (I'd like to see what trans men who've read and reviewed the book have to say.) Best of all, he wasn't a tragic character! So that was wonderful.

This story brought up some big feelings re: my own complicated family, about being/not being seen or understood. The ending was especially moving and tears were shed. Bennett's previous novel, THE MOTHERS, has been sitting unread on my bookshelf for a couple of years, but now that I've experienced her writing, I'm hoping to get to that book soon. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Medical content, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Minor: Deadnaming

spooksie's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative 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

4.75

OMG 
THE LAST TWO CHAPTERS???? 
I AM CRYING
SOBBING 
WTF??? 

BRIT BENNETT WHY


on a more serious note, i loved this book, altough it took me a while to get into, but the ending really does hit like a truck

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcohol and Dysphoria

vasha's review against another edition

mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

3.0

This book started out not bad; the first few chapters are a depiction of the 1950s/1960s in Mallard, a very small Louisiana town inhabited by Black people who are obsessed with light skin; they introduce Desiree and Stella, twin sisters whose identities are tangled up in each other. The writing style is pleasant and unobtrusive and the story keeps moving forward. Desiree  is the protagonist of the first section, and she makes for a pretty passive one. I wish we'd seen more of her interactions with her daughter Jude (she shocked Mallard by bringing home a very dark child); that would've been about the most interesting thing about her. Her boyfriend, a traveling bounty hunter, is possibly my favorite character in the book, though, and there are some nice bits about their cautious relationship and Jude's ambiguity about accepting him. Stella, who decides to become white and hide her origins, comes to the fore later in the book; she's very unpleasant, but at least compelling to read about!

As the book went on, I liked it less and less. It's not much of a work of historical fiction: the author only evokes the most obvious, familiar cultural touchstones in the journey from the 1950s to the 1980s. And some things struck me as anachronistic. For example, some young people in the 1980s are shown unselfconsciously using the word "Negro." They were born about the same time as me; the author's twenty years younger, so let me correct her: that word was already antediluvian in the 80s. The cast of supporting characters, too, is stock, as are details of the life of a bored housewife or of a college student (frankly, the latter is completely unbelievable). 

Now, the one thing that bugged the holy hell out of me: the depiction of Jude's boyfriend Reese, who's a trans man. There is practically not one page he appears on, where him being trans, and things about his transition, aren't mentioned, and everything he's depicted doing is in relation to that. I eventually started a "drinking game": oh, Jude's going to apartment-hunt with Reese, or talk to him about her mother, or whatever; will the author bring up Reese's surgeries, scars, etc.? Yup.... This is objectivization, maybe fetishization, whatever, not good. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Dementia, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Deadnaming

adverb17's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring reflective fast-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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Sexual assault, and Dementia

Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Dysphoria