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A review by desiree930
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I adore Brit Bennett's writing. This gives me similar vibes to books like Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane and Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. It's not a plot-heavy family saga. It's all about the characters and how the decisions they make affect everyone around them and how one decision, big or small, can change the course of a person's entire life. I love stories like that, and both this book and her debut, The Mothers, do it so well.
This is such a difficult book to talk about. There are some really intense themes running through this book that my review will not be able to adequately dissect, specifically colorism. I would highly encourage anyone interested in learning more to look at reviews from Black reviewers either on this site or in videos on YouTube that go more into depth and can speak more clearly on it. I'll just say, it is such a delicate subject and I think Brit Bennett navigated it beautifully, from my very limited perspective.
As far as the characters go, they are so authentically flawed. Even when they would make decisions I didn't understand or like, it never felt out of character for them.
I did only give this book 4 stars, and that's because I felt like the narrative lost a little steam towards the end, once we moved on to the next generation. That's actually something I notice a lot with books like this that chronicle multiple generations. I get very invested in the first generation, and we spend a good chunk of time with them, only to jump ahead several years and start focusing on an entirely new set of characters, but I always end up enjoying one over the other. I also felt like the scenes with Kennedy as an adult felt a little repetitive. Again, it all fit with her character, self-centered and vapid as she was, but I would've loved to have seen a little growth from her, especially once she learned about her family history, but I guess some people are just vapid narcissists, no matter what life throws at them.
I also felt like the book ended a little too abruptly. There were so many little threads still hanging. Not plot holes, but just so many things I wanted to know. That won't bother everyone. Some people love open-ended or vague endings, but I just wanted to see these characters have more of a wrap up.
I listened to this on audiobook as well as reading the physical copy, and I highly recommend the audiobook. The voice actor is amazing. She isn't just reading the lines and saying the dialogue. She gives real performances and differentiates each of the characters very well. I'm not sure if she also did The Mothers audiobook, but she was great regardless.
I will read anything Brit Bennett writes in the future. I just love the way she creates these interesting and flawed characters and tells their stories while also addressing important social topics.
Also, one of the main characters' names is Desiree, and I think that's the first time I've seen my name used in a book for a main character, so that was kind of fun. 😁
This is such a difficult book to talk about. There are some really intense themes running through this book that my review will not be able to adequately dissect, specifically colorism. I would highly encourage anyone interested in learning more to look at reviews from Black reviewers either on this site or in videos on YouTube that go more into depth and can speak more clearly on it. I'll just say, it is such a delicate subject and I think Brit Bennett navigated it beautifully, from my very limited perspective.
As far as the characters go, they are so authentically flawed. Even when they would make decisions I didn't understand or like, it never felt out of character for them.
I did only give this book 4 stars, and that's because I felt like the narrative lost a little steam towards the end, once we moved on to the next generation. That's actually something I notice a lot with books like this that chronicle multiple generations. I get very invested in the first generation, and we spend a good chunk of time with them, only to jump ahead several years and start focusing on an entirely new set of characters, but I always end up enjoying one over the other. I also felt like the scenes with Kennedy as an adult felt a little repetitive. Again, it all fit with her character, self-centered and vapid as she was, but I would've loved to have seen a little growth from her, especially once she learned about her family history, but I guess some people are just vapid narcissists, no matter what life throws at them.
I also felt like the book ended a little too abruptly. There were so many little threads still hanging. Not plot holes, but just so many things I wanted to know. That won't bother everyone. Some people love open-ended or vague endings, but I just wanted to see these characters have more of a wrap up.
I listened to this on audiobook as well as reading the physical copy, and I highly recommend the audiobook. The voice actor is amazing. She isn't just reading the lines and saying the dialogue. She gives real performances and differentiates each of the characters very well. I'm not sure if she also did The Mothers audiobook, but she was great regardless.
I will read anything Brit Bennett writes in the future. I just love the way she creates these interesting and flawed characters and tells their stories while also addressing important social topics.
Also, one of the main characters' names is Desiree, and I think that's the first time I've seen my name used in a book for a main character, so that was kind of fun. 😁
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Bullying and Physical abuse
Minor: Death