A review by jpaulthunders77
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
5.0
I've always wished I was a twin. I always long for someone, who is non-existent, to share the same face and genome as mine. My other half, whose beat of heart and stream of thoughts, feels completely like home. Maybe in another life, if I would be given the chance to be reincarnated, I would beg to have an identical twin brother.
That's the main reason why I decided to read this novel. Boy was I amazed!
In case you're not in the mood to read the synopsis, let me tell you that it's about this light-skinned black, identical twins, Desiree and Stella Vignes, who left their small town at the age of 16 and their stories of love, heartache, race, and identity. Desiree, the older twin, decides to embrace her blackness and marry the darkest man she could find. She bears one child named Jude who is black as a tarmac, but as gentle and loving as the sun. Meanwhile Stella, the more quiet twin, decides to pass over and live as a white woman. She marries a white man and bears, in a fortunate combination of genes, a white girl named Kennedy. It then shows the story of these four women as they live their lives. How the twins left their town and separated, how their daughters grew up differently and met eventually, and how the twins reunited, alongside the lessons they learned.
There are lots of things that I loved about this novel. First, the writing—it's very honest, intricate, and caring. It doesn't pretend to be too poetic and sappy, just right to convey the right imagery and emotions for me to care about the characters. Now for the characters, I really admire Bennett's character work. I ached deeply for her characters. Her narration and backstory creation was immersive and mesmerizing, that even though the most mundane part of their lives seemed so interesting to me. All her characters, even the minor ones, were real to me.
I also like the inclusion of a trans character in here. Although I can never speak for the accuracy of the portrayal, I felt the honesty of the character work, the realness of his journey toward his freedom, and I guess that's a plus point for me.
I know a lot of people have complaints about the pacing of the story because the first third was really slow and some of the character arcs, the ones that actually drove the plot, seemed to lack proper resolution. But you know what? I could care less. For me, I was deeply moved by the poignancy and the melancholic atmosphere of the story. The subjects of race, identity, belongingness, and love was explored in a way that left me satisfied. Also, like I've said, I am a sucker for twin stories so it's a five.
PS: I just to share that I was re-watching one of my favorite Filipino TV series when I started reading this. Maybe that was a contributing factor to the emotions I felt. Just in case you're curious, here's the trailer lol. It's called Doble Kara (Two Faces), and it tells the story of identical twin sisters who were separated when they were young because one had a leukemia and must be treated abroad. Years later, they reunited but could the years spend together growing up apart be filled with their love for each other? It's in Filipino but there's English close caption. Just try it :) Here's the link of the YouTube video:
Doble Kara
That's the main reason why I decided to read this novel. Boy was I amazed!
In case you're not in the mood to read the synopsis, let me tell you that it's about this light-skinned black, identical twins, Desiree and Stella Vignes, who left their small town at the age of 16 and their stories of love, heartache, race, and identity. Desiree, the older twin, decides to embrace her blackness and marry the darkest man she could find. She bears one child named Jude who is black as a tarmac, but as gentle and loving as the sun. Meanwhile Stella, the more quiet twin, decides to pass over and live as a white woman. She marries a white man and bears, in a fortunate combination of genes, a white girl named Kennedy. It then shows the story of these four women as they live their lives. How the twins left their town and separated, how their daughters grew up differently and met eventually, and how the twins reunited, alongside the lessons they learned.
There are lots of things that I loved about this novel. First, the writing—it's very honest, intricate, and caring. It doesn't pretend to be too poetic and sappy, just right to convey the right imagery and emotions for me to care about the characters. Now for the characters, I really admire Bennett's character work. I ached deeply for her characters. Her narration and backstory creation was immersive and mesmerizing, that even though the most mundane part of their lives seemed so interesting to me. All her characters, even the minor ones, were real to me.
I also like the inclusion of a trans character in here. Although I can never speak for the accuracy of the portrayal, I felt the honesty of the character work, the realness of his journey toward his freedom, and I guess that's a plus point for me.
I know a lot of people have complaints about the pacing of the story because the first third was really slow and some of the character arcs, the ones that actually drove the plot, seemed to lack proper resolution. But you know what? I could care less. For me, I was deeply moved by the poignancy and the melancholic atmosphere of the story. The subjects of race, identity, belongingness, and love was explored in a way that left me satisfied. Also, like I've said, I am a sucker for twin stories so it's a five.
PS: I just to share that I was re-watching one of my favorite Filipino TV series when I started reading this. Maybe that was a contributing factor to the emotions I felt. Just in case you're curious, here's the trailer lol. It's called Doble Kara (Two Faces), and it tells the story of identical twin sisters who were separated when they were young because one had a leukemia and must be treated abroad. Years later, they reunited but could the years spend together growing up apart be filled with their love for each other? It's in Filipino but there's English close caption. Just try it :) Here's the link of the YouTube video:
Doble Kara