The Vanishing Half

A GMA Book Club Pick (A Novel)

By: Brit Bennett

Narrated by: Shayna Small

Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Number one New York Times best seller

One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of the Year

Named a Best Book of 2020 by The New York Times * The Washington Post * NPR * People * Time Magazine * Vanity Fair * Glamour

“Bennett’s tone and style recalls James Baldwin and Jacqueline Woodson, but it’s especially reminiscent of Toni Morrison’s 1970 debut novel, The Bluest Eye.” (Kiley Reid, Wall Street Journal)

“A story of absolute, universal timelessness.... For any era, it's an accomplished, affecting novel. For this moment, it's piercing, subtly wending its way toward questions about who we are and who we want to be.” (Entertainment Weekly)

From The New York Times best-selling author of The Mothers, a stunning new novel about twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one Black and one White.

The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, Southern Black community and running away at age 16, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her Black daughter in the same Southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for White, and her White husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect?

Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.

As with her New York Times best-selling debut The Mothers, Brit Bennett offers an engrossing pause resister about family and relationships that is immersive and provocative, compassionate, and wise.

©2020 Brit Bennett (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"[Bennett’s] fiction is filled with very simple truths that are extremely wise." (Kiley Reid, Wall Street Journal)

"Not to be missed." (Harper’s Bazaar)

"Here, in her sensitive, elegant prose, [Bennett] evokes both the strife of racism, and what it does to a person even if they can evade some of its elements." (Vogue)

Sweet, Sad and totally unbelievable

I loved the story, wondering how it would turn out. I agree with some of the other reviewer’s who said it has a soap opera feel, but at the same time I could feel the characters. Some made me mad, some made me cry and some made me root them on. I would totally recommend this book and if you enjoy a real tear jerker.

Great Book Club Read!

This would be an excellent book club read. There's a lot to unpack and a lot to analyze from this truly interesting and entertaining story. Multiple POV but the two main characters are Stella and Desiree, twins born into a black family in the Deep South. The two have their fair share of differences, though, even if they look alike, and when one sister discovers she can pass for white, her life takes a drastic turn that separates them both mentally and physically. I found myself having conflicted emotions on the choices made and the consequences of certain characters' actions... and the responses to those consequences. How much of it is justified and how much is just pure selfishness? Would anyone blame her for making the decisions she made?

Lots to think about, but overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to fans of diverse women's fiction.

Did not live up to the expectation

After seeing this book for weeks in the top lists and recommendations, I had to listen. The story was great until the last chapter. I get where it was going but do not feel like the last chapter gave it any justice to the entirety of the story.

Bookclub approved!

We read this for our book club and had a wonderful discussion. We have a diverse group who all appreciated the story, the writing, and the approachability of race in this story.

Not my favorite

Firstly, the narration was wonderful. I just didn’t LOVE the story as much as I’d hoped to. Fairly interesting but a bit melancholy throughout. Blah.

I really enjoyed this book. I

Narrator was excellent and brought a lot of meaning to the story . Two sisters
very alike but very different. I learned a lot from this story. it was a fascinating and I would highly recommend people listen to it on audible.

Entertaining, but somehow seems a tad unoriginal.

I'm an identical twin and felt interested in reading this book. I enjoyed the story, and felt like the author captured some twin authentic moments. It also seemed as if Earl Lee's, Adele, Desiree's, and Blake's story had been told before. Jude was my favorite bit.

A great story

This was the book club choice at job. Wow, what a great story. No spoilers, but you have to get this one!

Amazing Story

I absolutely loved this book. Once I got started, I could not stop listening to it until it was finished.

One of the best narrations ever!

The Vanishing Half is a well-written story with authentic characters. I loved the narration of the book!